


Living is A Right For Everyone

by Delusions-Of-Granduer (Only_one_name)



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Mute Frisk, Possible smut, Reader Is Not Frisk, Romance, gotta love the sin, oh no! not another readerxsans!, or at least female-esque, reader is female, tags will be added as story progresses, we all wanna love the skele, yes yes its another one shut up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-04 18:54:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 19,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6670789
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Only_one_name/pseuds/Delusions-Of-Granduer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Not Another SansxReader! Oh no!</p><p>This story follows after a True-Pacifist Ending, and takes place generally around a year and a half since everyone's favourite monsters were set free from the barrier and flooded the city of Ebott.</p><p>You (the reader) are a generic University-going person, who happens to reside in a little out-of-the-way neighbourhood in the large, complex city of Ebott. However, life gets a bit more interesting when certain monsters start moving in to the nice, quiet neighbourhood.! Happy laughs, and somewhat sorrowful cries fill your somewhat lonely existence after you befriend them all. You proceed through this happy chaos, knowing that everyone at least deserves a chance to survive.</p><p>While humanity may be granted through official decrees and legal documents; the right to live is something that everyone should have.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. New Neighbours

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! :D
> 
> Yes, yes, this is another SansxReader fiction, and I am (not) sorry about it. Okay, well maybe a bit sorry- but I wanted to join in the fun! Everyone else was making awesome stories, so I decided to join in on that too! :D Can't help myself, I got inspired binge-reading everything while NOT studying for my exams ;P
> 
> Hopefully it's okay, and comments are ALWAYS appreciated (even if its just a "cool"). I'm a pretty awful writer, and even worse at keeping regular updates so this may be a bit of a stretch. 
> 
> Thanks in advance for reading!

_Crash! Clunk! Thud!_

The startling sounds bring you to glance over to your side, and you gasp as you note the child that had darted past you a few seconds ago was toppled over on the floor. A large display of chocolate bars had also been taken down in their apparent tumble. The child’s gaze connects to yours, face slack in apparent shock and confusion. A chocolate bar was held in their tight grasp.

“Oh! Hey there, are you okay?” You hum to them pleasantly, setting down your grocery basket and helping them up. You stand the display back up, and pick up the scattered chocolate bars before setting them back down. You turn to the child, who was dusting themselves off from their fall. They suddenly look up at you, and they give a large beaming smile. _Aw, isn’t this kid adorable!_  

A disturbing sense of familiarity breathes in the back of your mind, however, at the face of this child smiling at you. You blink rapidly as the child starts wildly gesturing to you with their hands, until it registers in your mind. _Ah, sign language._ You suddenly think to yourself. 

“Sorry there, bucko,” You tell the child gazing up at you as you bend down and collect your grocery basket, “I don’t know sign language. But I’ll assume you’re thanking me, and you are welcome.” You smile, but suddenly realise what if the child was deaf too? Shit. 

Yet as the child gives you another blinding grin, and nods their head you breathe a sigh of relief. They probably understood you, then. Still, you couldn’t get that weird sense of _I’ve seen this kid_ _before_ out of your head. Did you pass them by on the street? Were they a neighbourhood kid you forgot about? 

However, you’re pulled from your thoughts as a look of concern flashes on the kids face. They’re suddenly peering around and behind you, biting their lip in an agitated manner. They gesture to you again, but seemly grow slightly frustrated at the fact that you didn’t understand. 

“Did you get lost from your mom?” You ask hesitantly, wondering why the child had just suddenly grown upset. They nod, “Want me to help find her?” They nod again, relieved, and gladly take your offered palm. You are a little concerned at the innocently trusting nature of the child, and how easily you had offered your own assistance- but that was neither here or there right now. 

Almost asking the child what their mother’s name was, you catch yourself in the nick of time. It wouldn’t do you any good anyway, you _didn’t know sign language._ So you lightly grip the child’s delicate hand, and traverse through the store quickly; looking for any type of mother figure that was probably looking for their own child.

Suddenly, entering the third isle down, the child lets go of your hand and sprints off down the aisle. You watch with a small smile as they slam into a large figure, a deep purple dress adorning them.

“Oh! Frisk, my child, there you are. I was beginning to worry!” The voice that addresses the child- Frisk you now knew- is warm, smooth and motherly. You hesitate at the beginning of the aisle, wondering if you should go up to them or just leave. After all, your job was done- you got the child back to their mother, there really was nothing left here for you to do. However, at the beckoning of Frisk- who must have noticed your hesitation- you slowly walk up to the pair. You pull a smile onto your face, as the figure turns around and it’s a-

Goat Monster? 

You blink a few times, the surprise at the face of a new monster fading quickly as you approach the happy pair. After all, it wasn’t like seeing monsters in this city wasn’t _normal_ \- at least recently. It had been nearly a year and half from now since the newest race of species had flooded out from below the mountain just a few miles north of the city. Perhaps what was more shocking was the fact that another group of monsters had moved to this section of the city. As far as you had known, most of the monsters resided in the suburbs that faced the mountain- the area the city had given them when they first cascaded from their depths; even though it was decreed recently the monsters _could_ live elsewhere, not many of them had moved out of the reaches of their little sub-section. 

Yet, that was no doubt to be expected. After all, the past year _had_ been extremely hectic for them- no doubt. All government, and other representative world leaders, had flooded to Ebott; ready and waiting to debate upon this new, sentient species and possible rights for them as a whole. Truth be told, it was only officially declared 6 months ago that the monsters had won basic civic rights to many human commodities- the right to legally own housing and cars, the right to an education, the right to be given a job etcetera etcetera. A lot of the reason for persuasion must have been from the incredible vast amount of natural resources the caverns of the mountain had to offer, and the cheap labour they could rake in from the monsters. 

Economic downslide this country had been going through could suddenly take a turn for the better; especially if it cost the government only a little slip of paper to state that monsters were to be treated equally. It wasn’t as if they truly had to put effort to _reinforce_ that right either. 

And then that’s where the niggling sense of _I’ve seen these two before_ really **_hits_** you. You recognize this _REGAL goat woman_ and the _small MUTE child_ at her side.

“Oh my gosh!” You proclaim, desperately trying to bow or something in your flustered state, “You’re the- the kid is- sorry sorry!” You bow again, utterly embarrassed. How could you not realize the kid was the ambassador of the monster race? How did you not _see that this was the Queen of Monsters standing before you?_ “I didn’t recognize you straight away, I’m so sorry your majesty!” Although the government had long dethroned the monarchy of monsters, the media had eaten it up. So many headlines had labelled the two figureheads as they were, and you assumed that this was probably the proper way to address them. After all, many countries still had a monarchy in place- despite a fully functional underlying government and senate. 

“Oh, gracious, dear one! Please, I am Toriel. I no longer carry the title of queen.” You flinch at that, feeling slightly guilty at how the government had stripped her of her title- but the goat woman did not seem at all fazed or sour of it. So you laugh awkwardly instead, rubbing the back of your neck with a free hand. The child- the ambassador Frisk- is gesturing to Toriel rapidly. 

Toriel gives a little chuckle, taking the candy bar out of their hands and placing it in the cart behind her. She turns to you, and gives a soft, welcoming smile, “Thank you for helping my child, dear one. My I ask of your name?” 

“Ah- Oh! It’s (F/n) (L/n).” You watch as Frisk taps on Toriel’s leg, and gestures to her. Toriel gives a little laugh, before looking up at you, her face slightly tinged with embarrassment.

“My child would like to say that they think you, and your name, is very pretty.” Toriel responds at your slight tilt of head. You glance down at Frisk, who gives a noticeable flirty wink.

For a few seconds all you can do is stare at Frisk, before suddenly burst out laughing. _Oh man! Is the ambassador of monsters- a child!?- **flirting** with me?_ Frisk pouts at your reaction, and you kneel down, still snickering.

“You’re pretty cute yourself Frisk,” You manage to say in between your snorts, winking back and calming down to blow a little kiss at them. Their eyes widen, and you are met with deep, rich red hue. They blush and smile, before clutching at Toriel’s dress and giggling into their free hand.

“Oh my!” Toriel laughs good-naturedly, “Please, refrain from flirting too much with my child.” She chides, but there is a smile in her voice. You laugh as well and stand up.

“Sorry, Queen-, ah Toriel. Just can’t help it when I see such a sweetie.” Frisk flushes again, looking more than pleased at the praise. Toriel gives her own small chuckle, her eyes alighting with a deep, motherly warmth.

“Yes, Frisk certainly is a sweet, innocent child.”

You stand there in a type of silence, before you suddenly clear your throat. Toriel’s gaze goes to you, and you give a crooked smile, “Not to be, uh, nosy- but did you guys just move here or…?” You were _pretty positive_ that you would have noted if the Queen and Ambassador of monsters had been roaming around the little neighbourhood on the outskirts of Ebott. At least, you wanted to _think_ you were astute enough to notice that. You get a brief flash of remembrance to the fact someone had said another monster family was planning on moving in- but you assumed, at the time, it would only be more of the Bunny family that had moved here 4 months ago. No one had mentioned _anything_ about the Ambassador or Queen moving in to this quiet neighbourhood. 

“Oh, yes! We moved in just yesterday, by the elementary school. It is already… very peaceful here, quiet and relaxing. The move was a rather… hushed one.” Toriel confesses

_Ah._ You think to yourself. _She probably moved here to get away from all the up-town city drama._ After all, this small sub-town of the city _was_ small, quiet and well-mannered. Well out of the way of all the haters and media.

“Yeah, everyone here is pretty nice.” You say, hiking the basket of food higher up your arm. You extend a hand, “Dunno if anyone’s greeted you yet, so welcome to Foxdale! I’m sure, ah, no one will give you too much trouble. We got a bunny family living here and I heard everyone’s been pretty decent to ‘em so…” You trail off awkwardly as Toriel merely beams at you, and takes your hand. 

Her soft, fluffy hand dwarfs yours as she gives a polite shake, “Yes,” She says softly, “I feel like this town is very nice, especially if someone as kind as you lives here.”

You laugh, blushing at her compliment, “Nah, I’m not that nice. Glad you think so though, good first impressions and all that.” You suddenly note Frisk staring intensely at your grocery basket. They then gesture pointedly to a box in it, before looking up at you. You look at what they are pointing to, and see the box of popsicles you had impulsively thrown in. You snort, “You wanna popsicle cutie?” 

They look up at you, red eyes wide before nodding frantically.

“Oh, no, (y/n). Please, do not feel the need-” You were already digging in your basket, and open the box before producing a wrapped popsicle and handing it over. Frisk grabs at it greedily, ripping the packaging open and stuffing it in their mouth. They smile at you around the treat. 

“It’s fine, Toriel. Like I said, can’t resist such a cutie like Frisk.” Frisk beams again.

Toriel’s face crinkles, “Oh, well, let me at least pay you for it-” 

Again, you wave a hand, “Welcoming gift! It’s good, we’re good. You two have a nice day, alright? I gotta go before all the other popsicles melt and I have none left for me.” Giving a big wink to Frisk, who returns with one of their own, and a pleasant smile to Toriel, you turn on your heel and go to pay.

After exiting the grocers, you smile to yourself. You hadn’t followed monster news very well, only the first couple of months since their return to the surface- but you knew a lot about the city and its mean people. It's what made you move to the gentler, out-of-the-way part of the large, complex city of Ebott. Even though it took you forever to get to the University by bus, you felt it had been one of the better choices you had made. 

And hey, it turned out to be true. You got to meet the Queen of Monsters and the Monster Ambassador! You felt even happier, and self-satisfied, you had been kind and courteous to them. The media loved portraying the rivalries, and you heard a lot of the hate crimes against them from your social-rights activist friends. And the bunny family had been nice, and sweet and any monster you chanced whenever you had business deeper in the city was always polite to you. Besides, you haven’t heard of a single monster killing anyone, so you liked to give the benefit of the doubt. It felt good to be nice, when the rest of the world was rather shitty. 

“(Y/n)!” You spin on your heel, surprised to hear your name being called. You find Toriel rushing after you, Frisk in the lead. Frisk slams into you, almost making you stumble backwards onto your butt. You laugh as you note the tinged lips of the child. They must have devoured the popsicle you gave them.

 “What, you looking for another popsicle there sweetie?” Frisk laughs at that, but shakes their head. You wait for Toriel to catch up, before quirking a brow.

 “Is there something else you guys need?” You ask.

 “Oh, no.” Toriel huffs, “I was hoping to invite you over to our new house, it would be wonderful to get to know you.”

You blink at that, “Oh!” You respond, before chuckling, “Well, I must have really made a good impression on you then for wanting my company so fast. Ha, sure, I’d love to see your house when you’re all settled in and such. Should we exchange numbers or…?” Almost immediately Frisk whisks out a phone, unlocks it, and hands it up to you. You laugh, and enter your number into their phone, before handing it back. Frisk steps back, letting Toriel rummage in her purse and hand you her phone. After entering your contact information into Toriel’s phone, you can feel yours buzzing in your pocket. 

You glance over to the smug look of Frisk, and shake your head. They smile cheekily at you, winking again. Oh man, this kid was too much.

Toriel flushes, “I am sorry, dear one. It seems my child is much taken with you.” Toriel awkwardly takes her phone from your hands, looking apologetic.

“Don’t sweat it. I gotta little sister, I know how children are.”

 “Oh?” Toriel perks up at that, “Do you live with your family?”

 You shake your head, “Nah. I’m… well, I’m quite a few miles away from them. Dunno why, but I moved up here for post-secondary school. Maybe it was the mountain that intrigued me, or all those wicked monster stories-” You freeze, glancing over at Toriel, “Ah, well, I guess they aren’t really stories.” You give a small anxious chuckle, “Sorry.” 

“Oh, child, do not fret. I am rather pleased you made the decision to live here. Otherwise, we would not have met you.”

“Yeah, same here. It was pleasant talking to you, Toriel. Frisk. Text me when you’re all settled in and I’ll see when we can meet up. Oh, and I guess if you wanna tour too, I can offer my time. Not much to see though, this neighbourhood is pretty small.”

“Oh, I am deeply sorry child, but I have already made arrangements with the Bunny family to be shown around.” Toriel informs you, “Though it is very kind of you to offer.” 

You wave a hand dismissively, before announcing you should probably leave for home. Toriel asks if she could walk with you, but after learning her house was in the opposite direction of yours you wave her off with an, “It’s fine! Don’t want to make you two walk all the way to my house and then back to yours!” You announce, before striding off. Toriel bides you a fond goodbye, and Frisk waves. You wave back. 

It takes you a few minutes to walk down the street, and then up the other one to reach the apartment building you lived in. You smile widely- and try to wave- at the elderly couple, who lived in the bottom part of the complex- sitting out on their small porch. They greet you kindly, this time letting you go by without any questions, as they normally were wont to do, and you enter the lobby area of the apartment complex gratefully. You purposefully walk up to the small elevator, stabbing the button to call it down. You glance at the stairs, feeling slightly guilty, but with the shopping bags in your hands- you had more reason to take the elevator up three flights. You’d exercise tomorrow _surely_. _And then eat a whole box of popsicles._  

You nod to your flat neighbour, just exiting out of his apartment, “Going to play cards with Viola and Janet?” You ask pleasantly, giving him a coy smile and an eyebrow wiggle. The middle aged man- John- pretends to swat you, tsking. 

“That I am.” He retorts sourly, “Don’t you be getting any of your silly ideas, girl. Nothing’s happening.” 

“That doesn’t mean you don’t want anything to happen!” You tease him, as he enters the elevator once you depart. He rolls his eyes at you before the elevator comes to a close, but you see the smile on his face. You laugh before turning to your apartment door. 

Fumbling awkwardly with your keys, you manage to open the door to your apartment. Your apartment was a pleasant 2 bedroom type suite, with an open-set type of plan, the kitchen, dining room and living room all melded into one large room. A master bedroom and the guest bedroom were off to the right, along with the bathroom. There was also a balcony, which you accessed from the living room. It was a good set-up for a student like you. 

The apartment complex mainly housed middle aged to elderly people- and in fact, you (besides the complex owner’s daughter, who lived on the top floor) were the youngest person here. Not that you minded, though, everyone was nice and very welcoming. Your parents were more than glad you had moved to this part of town- even before monsters had entered the scene, the true part of the city had been very grungy and dangerous. You, too, felt very safe here in this small town. It was much better than living in the city, which you had been until a month and a half after the monsters all cascaded out of the mountain. The amount of hate and violence that went up after that had been astronomical and **_very_** life-threatening. You were glad you had listened to your mother’s warnings and pleas to _at least_ move somewhere safer in the city. 

Walking through the living room, and into the kitchen area, you drop your groceries onto the island that also functioned as your dining table, and pull out your phone. You blink curiously at it, finding at least a good 10 messages on it from an unknown number. You sigh, shaking your head and opening it. As expected, they are all from Frisk. 

**_[Unknown Number] 4: 10 PM_ **

**_Hello! This is Frisk! That popsicle was very tasty and sweet, thank you_ **

**_[Unknown Number] 4: 11 PM_ **

**_But your lips look even sweeter haha ;P kidding!_ **

 

You laugh out loud, _oh man._ This kid was a natural. _Ha, was I this flirty when I was that young…? How old is Frisk anyway?_

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4: 20 PM_ **

**_……?_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:22 PM_ **

**_Why aren’t you answering?_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:26 PM_ **

**_Momma says it’s probably because you haven’t gotten home yet. Are you home now?_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:26 PM_ **

**_Text me when you get home!_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:28 PM_ **

**_I can’t wait for you to come over to my new house, you seem like a very fun person_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:29 PM_ **

**_And I want you to meet my friends! I think some might be moving down here too! Isn’t that cool?_ **

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:31 PM_ **

**_Momma wants to know if you can come over tomorrow? Oh, and do you like butterscotch or cinnamon?_ **

 

Laughing to yourself, you type out a quick reply

 

_[XXX] 4:35 PM_

_Hey, yeah! Sorry, just got home, you little flirt ;P And if you guys really want, I’m pretty sure I can come over tomorrow! I work in the morning though, so it’ll have to be after 4. And either’s fine, I’m not picky._

 

You place your phone down on the counter, and set to putting the groceries away. Almost immediately your phone buzzes and you smirk.

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:36 PM_ **

**_Yes! Momma says that’s perfectly fine! I’m so excited!_ **

_[XXX] 4:37 PM_

_Me too! See ya tomorrow cutiepie!_

 

You place the phone down again, and go about putting all your other groceries away. You then decide to sit on the couch, but simply look outside the large bay windows instead of turning the TV on. You can’t help but think about meeting Frisk and Toriel again tomorrow. 

_Huh. Who would think I’d want to go see a little kid and their mother so quickly._ You laugh to yourself, _Maybe I miss my family a bit too much. Frisk reminds me of my little sis… And Toriel definitely is a mom._  

You sigh to yourself, before getting up. Your stomach was growling at you, and you suddenly had the impulsive idea to make brownies for Toriel and Frisk tomorrow. Another welcoming gift, you guess. They _were_ making you lunch, after all. 

After making yourself chicken breast and rice, as well as rich chocolate brownies, you settle back into the couch to watch some mindless TV before bed. You find yourself flipping idly through the channels, before resting on a ‘MTT-TV’ channel- it was a delegated ‘Monster TV’ channel, and it was growing in popularity; apparently a monster had worked hard for some sort of station for the monsters. You couldn’t really remember the name of him though- 

**_Mettaton and_** _**YOU! The Late Night Talk Show!**_  

Ah. **_That_** was the name. Mettaton. You watch idly at the weird show- it wasn’t really much of a “you” show, the- robotic?- man talking more about himself than anyone that appeared, but it was rather charming. You suppose. At least the monsters had their own TV channel- not like that was much of a right. Media was probably snatching up all sorts of different “monster-esque” type shows and such.

Finishing your plate, you plop it in the sink and put the brownies in a plastic container to keep them fresh. You yawn, head over to your room and prepare yourself for bed. Brushing your teeth. Changing your cloths. Setting an alarm on your digital clock, as well as on your phone, you flop down in your PJS and curl up in the twin bed. 

!~!~~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

**_BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP_ **

 

You snap awake, groaning as you scramble to turn off the alarm on your clock and phone. Rubbing your eyes and sighing, you slowly get up and shuffle to the bathroom. After a nice shower, you waltz back into your room and prepare a bag with your work clothes and other things. You bite your lip, wondering if you should bring anything else to Toriel’s. Thinking on a _no_ and really not knowing anything else to bring, you place your bag on the counter and slip the brownies into it. After popping a bagel into the toaster and then getting some cream cheese to spread, you check your social media idly on the phone. Much of the news is about monsters, as per usual the past year. 

**_ARE MONSTERS REALLY A THREAT? MANY CITIZENS UNSURE._**  

**_DOUBTS ABOUT THE LEGAL RIGHTS OF MONSTERS STILL PLAGUE MANY_ **

**_MONSTER OWNED STORE BROKEN INTO YESTERDAY MORNING. WILL JUSTICE BE GRANTED?_**  

**_POLICE DECLARE DOWNTOWN UNSAFE FOR MONSTER PASSAGE AS ANTI-MONSTER ACTIVIST GROUPS GROW IN NUMBER_**  

**_IS AN INTERSPECIES RELATIONSHIP FIT FOR YOU? MONSTERS AND HUMANS, THE “NEW” KINK._ **

The toaster pops and you prepare your bagel. Chomping down on it gleefully, you grab your bag and head out. Tossing your jacket, and slipping your keys into your pocket you head out the door, effortlessly locking it.

You rush down the stairs, nearly hopping down the last three and sped out the door. You manage to catch the bus leaving to the downtown station, and you swipe your bus pass before settling into an empty seat.

It takes nearly an hour before you reach the terminal and then another good 15 minutes before you get to work- but that was days as usual, living so far out of the city. Not that you particularly minded.

You got to work on time, as usual. Your work place was a fast food joint- it wasn’t a super bad place to work, but it wasn’t entirely the best either. The upside- or downside, depending on who you were- was that it was near the suburbs of the monsters (you could people-watch, or ahem, monster-watch through the large glass windows out the front on breaks). Your boss wasn’t entirely against monsters, but nor did they particularly like them. More of a happy medium, a customer _was_ a customer to your boss, especially if that meant they could overcharge them due to finicky laws. However, not all of your coworkers shared the same type of indifference as your boss, or the kind acceptance you were willing to give. This lead to you having a large amount of hours shoved onto you, as well as the other coworkers that stuck around, which wasn’t a _particular_ bad thing- you needed money, the whole “starving student” situation was definitely a fear- but also rather shitty, because you liked having free time as much as the next person.

Work went by a little slower than usual. You were anticipating the nice dinner/lunch with Toriel and Frisk, so it made the hours seem longer. However, once the clock was nearing 3, you basically bolted out the door. None of your coworkers, gladly, commented on the fact you left 5 minutes early. Not like they cared, though.

You waited at the bus station for you bus impatiently. Your eye, however, caught on a… strange… monster walking down the street, a large brown bag in his arms. The monster was, first of all, amazingly tall. And he was also a… skeleton (???!). You hadn't seen a skeleton monster before, most of the ones the media portrayed- and you saw- were some type of anthropomorphic animal. He was looking about, a large grin plastered on his skeletal face. He seemed pretty animated, and comical, for a walking, talking corpse. But hey, that was magic for you, you supposed. The little bit you knew about monsters was that they were completely made of the stuff. Magic was like… their blood or something. At least that's what you learned from that pop-y magazine you breezed through a few days ago, waiting for your bus to reach the terminal.

You waved pleasantly to him when he noticed you, and he seemed to grin wider at you, waving drastically with his free hand. It almost looked as if his eyes started sparkling- which was rather weird, given his eyes were simply black eye sockets. Did he even have actual eyes?

However too busy watching the goofy skeleton wave at you, you fail to notice the rather hunched, cloaked figure behind him. You only noticed him as he slammed his shoulder into the skeleton, causing him to tumble.

“Hey, watch what you’re doing _monster freak!_ ” The man snarls, before shuffling off, ‘accidentally’ kicking the bag, causing the contents to tumble out.

“That’s super rude-” You start to say, but he simply brushes into your shoulder, causing you to nearly fall over as well. He scurries off, even as you shout at him. You flip off his back however as he ducks around the corner, “Asshole!”

Quickly though, you run over to the toppled skeleton, and help him up.

“OH, THANK YOU KIND HUMAN!” He shouts at, what seems to be, the top of his lungs (???). You smile at him, bending over to pick up the bag and its contents- just boxes upon boxes of spaghetti, “I AM AFRAID I WASN’T ABLE TO APOLOGIZE TO THAT HUMAN MAN. I MUST BE MORE CAREFUL OF OTHER PEOPLE WHEN I AM WALKING THE STREETS.”

“You shouldn’t have to apologize to that jerk.” You state, giving him the brown bag, “He basically pushed you over! That was so rude!”

“WELL, I AM SURE HE DID NOT MEAN IT!”

You roll your eyes at that, muttering, “I’m pretty sure he did.”

Suddenly, the skeleton gasps, which startles you, “I HAVE MADE A TERRIBLE ERROR IN THE RULES OF MEETING NEW PEOPLE! I HAVE NOT YET INTRODUCED MYSELF TO YOU! FORGIVE ME FOR MY CARELESSNESS!”

You quirk your eyebrow at him. The skeleton clears his throat pointedly.

“I, HUMAN, AM THE GREAT AND MIGHTY PAPYRUS!” He strikes a heroic pose, looking all the more childish than his silly waving had made him out to be, “IT IS PLEASING TO MAKE YOUR ACQUAINTANCE!”

You laugh, and offer your hand, which the skeleton shakes excitedly, “I’m (F/n) (L/n). It’s nice to meet you too, Oh _Great and Mighty_ Papyrus.” He beams at you, basically dancing on his tip toes in excitement. It only continues to denote his childish nature. He was like your sister hyped on too much candy; especially the _loud_ part.

“IT IS VERY ASTUTE OF YOU TO ALSO NOTICE MY GREATNESS, HUMAN. BUT YOU, AS WELL, ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND HONOURABLE! I MUST SIMPLY THANK YOU AGAIN FOR HELPING ME PICK UP ALL OF MY PASTA.”

“It really is no trouble-” You cut off as you notice the bus rounding the corner, chugging its way towards your stop. Your heart pounds, and you slip out of the skeleton’s grip, “Sorry Mighty Papyrus! I gotta go! My bus is here! Have a good day!” You wave at the skeleton, as you rush to stand at the stop as the bus driver slows down to pick you up. The doors close as you swipe your bus pass and settle into your seat. You turn around to wave again at the skeleton as the bus picks up to drive away.

“WAIT! HUMAN!” You hear the cry of the startled skeleton, but the bus doesn’t slow down. You feel a tad guilty for suddenly leaving the poor guy, but you had a bus to catch. Maybe you’d meet him on your afternoon shift tomorrow- or perhaps on your way to early morning classes. Who knew.

You pull out your phone and send a quick text to Frisk as the bus chugs its way to the downtown station. It was a good thing you left work at 3, you’d be there in time for your bus to leave to your town; instead of waiting almost an hour for the next one.

 

_[XXX] 3:09 PM_

_Heya Frisk! Just tell your mom I’ll be back in town at around 4:30. Where’s your house btw?_

 

Almost immediately Frisk replies, a huge smiley emote and the address to their house. You text them back with another smiling face, before asking about their day.

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:13 PM_ **

**_My day today was just putting all my stuff away. Momma got me registered at the school here, and got herself a teaching job there!_ **

_[XXX] 3:14 PM_

_Toriel wants to be a teacher? How neat! Hopefully it goes well._

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:15 PM_ **

**_Me too!_ **

****

You laugh slightly, getting off the one bus and scampering over to the other bus to take you back home.

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:35 PM_ **

**_Are you going to be here yet?_ **

_[XXX] 3:37 PM_

_Haha, calm down cutiepie! I’ll be there in 40 minutes_

 

The forty minutes pass by as you and Frisk continue texting each other. You hop off the bus near the stop by their house (you had looked it up on your handy-dandy bus app) and continue the trek to find their house. You head down to road sign, and look for their street name. You turn down that street, whipping out your phone to send another quick text to Frisk.

 

_[XXX] 4:21 PM_

_Well, I’m off the bus and walking to your house there cutiepie. Keep an eye out for me, will ya?_

 

Walking for a few brief minutes, peering around the houses across the street from you, you try to determine which numbered house you were at- a sudden squeal makes you jump. You whip your head towards to the sound, to see Frisk barrelling towards you, their arms outstretched.

You laugh and pluck them off their feet, twirling them in a circle. Frisk really did act like your little sister. Settling them on your hip, you walk into the house Frisk points to. It’s a rather quaint, one-story home, with a small white-washed porch leading up to a large beige door. As you step up the steps, and open the door, Frisk tries signing to you, but you can only shrug and go, “Sorry, kiddo, I still don’t know sign language.” They merely smile before wrapping your neck in a hug. How you managed to win this kids affection so fast, you’d never know (not that you were complaining, they were adorable).

The door leads you to a small entry way, with the kitchen straight in front of you, where Toriel is busily bustling around in and humming. You greet Toriel pleasantly, setting Frisk down and they duck through the archway to your left and into the next room, before running deeper into the house. You take off your shoes, and go to stand in the archway between the next room- it’s the living/dining area- and the area between the entry way and the kitchen. The house is all light pastels and warm colours. It’s a rather nice house, and you inform Toriel of that.

“Oh, thank you dear one! Frisk and I tried very hard to organize and clean today for your arrival.”

You flush at that, pulling your bag to the front of you and reaching in to grab the brownies you made, “Aw, you guys didn’t have to do that for me. I told you we could meet whenever you settled in. Didn’t have to be right away.”

“Well, I confess both Frisk and I were… eager to talk to you again. You are a very sweet young lady, and we both wish to get to know you better.”

You laugh again, walking over to the kitchen, and slipping the brownies onto a counter before ducking out of Toriel’s way, “Well, I tried to seem interesting. I guess I succeeded.” You joke lightly, stepping back into your spot by the open archway to the living area.

“What is this?” Toriel asks, as she gestures to the container you set down.

“Another welcoming gift. Brownies. I, uh, hope you two like brownies...”

Toriel smiles warmly at you, “Thank you.”

Frisk comes back in, tugging at your pant sleeve. They point towards the dining table in the top half of the living area vigorously.

“I believe Frisk wants you to play. Please, go and enjoy yourself. The meal will not be ready for a couple of minutes anyway.” Toriel waves her paws, ushering you at your slight hesitation.

Frisk tugs harder, and you allow them to pull you along, smiling. They pull you towards the dining table, and push you gently into one of the chairs, before running around and sitting into the chair opposite of you. A very familiar game board is set up on the table- Sorry! and it makes you crack a large smile.

“Oh man, I haven’t played this game in years!” You proclaim, laughing. You eye the notepad and pencil next to Frisk’s arm, “Don’t think we need a notepad though…” You trail off. 

Frisk shakes their head, before grabbing the pencil and scribbling furiously.

  ** _It’s not for the game! It’s so we can talk!_**

 “Ah, makes sense. Know how to play, cutiepie?”

**_Yeah!_ **

“Cool, I’m gunna kick your butt.”

**_Not if I beat you first!_ **

You start the game, and continue laughing and talk-writing (mainly Frisk childishly flirting with you) for a while. True to Frisk’s word, they win and leave you sighing in defeat.

“Oh no!” You dramatically sigh, “How terrible! I have lost!” You lean back in the set, placing a withered hand to your forehead and pouting.

Frisk laughs at your childish actions, **_I told you I would win._**

You crack open an eye, before sitting up properly and chuckling, “That you did, cutiepie. But I think I was too distracted by your sweet little face to play properly.” You wink, and Frisk giggles.

**_You are just as bad as me! YOU’RE the flirt!_ **

“Are you getting flustered, cutie? I thought you were the flirt master!”

**_Well, I want to be the master of your heart ;P_ **

You snort loudly, “Oh my goodness! How do you even know to say all these things?” You can’t help but continue giggling. This cute little kid really was too much at times. 

At that moment Toriel comes in, bringing with her the gorgeous meal. The meal contained gorgeously cooked salmon and scallop potatoes, along with mixed, steamed vegetables. You eye the food with a salivating tongue, nearly crying in delight at how delicious the food was. Your student diet of mainly noodles, rice and the odd chicken dinner when you felt it was a special day was nothing compared to this delicacy.

Toriel watches you eat with an amused expression, and nods as you (greedily) ask for seconds. As you slow down shovelling the food into your awaiting mouth, Toriel clears her throat. You swallow and look up at her, curious.

“So you are a University student, (y/n). What is it that you study?”

You shrug your shoulders, “Ah, well, I’m in neuroscience right now.”

“Oh?”

“Yup. It’s my second year. Planning on a Masters afterwards though, so lots more school ahead of me.” You laugh slightly, “Hey, I heard from Frisk today you got a job at the elementary school here. That’s pretty cool.”

“Oh yes! I did, and it was quite the relief that the school was willing to hire me.” You listen pleasantly as Toriel continues to rattle off about how much she had wanted to work at a school- right now she was only a teacher’s assistant, but since the law passed that monsters were able to get an above-ground education (unfortunately any schooling down there wasn’t considered adequate to any degrees above ground) Toriel was going to try and gain a diploma through online resources. Apparently the principle had been kind enough to offer some insight for Toriel to progress in her dream career path.

“That’s wonderful, Toriel! I’m glad you’ll be able to do what you love!” You respond happily, finally finishing off the seconds on your plate. Toriel beams at you, before excusing herself to grab something else from the kitchen. She returns a few minutes later.

“Dear, I hope you like both cinnamon and butterscotch pie. Frisk told me that you didn’t mind either so…” Toriel presents a large, flaky pie in her hands, setting it in the center of the dining table. She brings with her a sharp knife and small plates, and then deftly slices pieces for everyone.

Your eyes round, and you sigh dreamily at the delicious smell that wafts to your nose, “God, Toriel, you’re spoiling me here! I haven’t eaten this well since I left home!” You happily accept the crumbling piece of pie Toriel hands to you, mouth positively watering.

You dig in and let out a loud groan. _Food this delicious should be outlawed._

“Is that so? Well, my dear, please feel free to stop any time for dinner! I must say, it really is very pleasant talking to you, and Frisk seems more than happy in your company.” Frisk gives a vehement nod, offering a large smile, as they too shove bites of the pie into their mouth.

“Oh _gosh_ , you really would spoil me rotten, Toriel. I won’t be able to ever make myself anything ever again- in fact I already shiver at the thought of my own terrible cooking I’ll have to muscle through tomorrow night.” You shove another bite of the pie into your mouth, eyelashes fluttering. _God_ it was _criminal_ how good this tasted. You were sure even your _mother_ would be jealous.

Toriel laughs at that, and you all continue talking pleasantly, moving on to varied and wide-spread topics. You amiably move on to family discussions, mentioning your parents and little sister. Frisk mentions an “Asgore” (which you slightly recall as King of the Monsters) but at Toriel’s pained look, nothing else is said on that subject. Frisk goes on to describe their previous house in the depths of the monster suburbs, and Toriel moves on to explain that she felt the need to move, get a nicer neighbourhood and more kid-friendly space to raise Frisk in. Frisk also talks about their friends from in the city, an Alphys, Undyne, Sans and Papyrus. 

“Papyrus?” You say, amused, “Is that perhaps a large, lanky skeleton guy?” 

**_Yes! Yes he is! Do you know him?_**  

“Kind of? I saw him today, helped him pick up his groceries after a rude man knocked him down.” 

“Oh my! How dreadful! Papyrus wasn’t hurt, now was he?” Toriel asks 

You wave a hand, leaning back in the seat to rest your extended, aching tummy, “No no. He wasn’t hurt a bit. Was actually wanting to apologize to the man for being in his way.” You huff at that, shaking your head, “Papyrus seemed like a really nice dude, too bad there are always rude people in this city.” 

“Well, at least not _everyone_ was rude.” Toriel says, giving you a light smile. You quirk one back, before giving a loud, satisfied sigh. 

“That dinner was really great, Toriel. Thanks for inviting me over.” 

“Thank _you_ for coming over and talking so pleasantly with us. And for helping Papyrus today too, it is always nice to meet such kind, helpful people.” Toriel collects the dishes, and leftover food, and hums her way into the sink. 

You inch your way up, following her into the kitchen, “Speaking of being helpful, let me do the dishes, Toriel. It’s the least I can do.” You offer, after Toriel puts away the leftover food into separate containers.

“Oh, dear, it is perfectly alright-” 

You gently take her hand away from the sink, “I insist, Toriel. To show my thanks!" With a few more seconds of argument, Toriel finally relents and walks back into the living room. You hear the rumble of her talking to Frisk, and the silence that must constitute Frisk responding. You finish up the dishes, and absently checking your phone after you dry your hands. You gap at the time- you've spent at _least_ a good 3 hours here! Wow!

You head back into the dining room, collecting your bag from the chair you sat at. Frisk and Toriel turn to look at you, curious, "It really was a wonderful evening, Toriel. But I should get going. Gotta finish my homework before heading off to bed."

Toriel's eyes widen, and she stands up, "Oh, my dear, I am sorry that we kept you for so long!"

You laugh at her worried expression, "It's fine, it's fine! I still have lots of time to do it, no worries. Just want to say bye to you all, and thanks again for having me."

"Of course, my dear. Like I said, any time you wish to come over for dinner, we will be happy to have you." Toriel walks you to the door, and starts to put on her coat. Frisk ambles behind, pulling on their shoes.

"Whoa whoa whoa! What do you two think you're doing?" You laugh, tucking your feet into your shoes, and quirking a brow at them.

"I insist that we walk you home. It is evening, and getting late. It would be unwise to do it alone."

"Ha! Toriel, I've walked home later than this! And this neighbourhood is _super_ nice! No one is going to do anything! I'm perfectly safe!"

"While that may be true, I still feel as if we should escort you home. After all, you know where we live, I think it nice to know where you live."

You roll your eyes, shuffling the bag further on your shoulder, "Well, if you two _absolutely_ want to. It's a good thing I live straight down this street."

"Oh?" Toriel questions, as the three of you exit the house and she locks the door. Frisk immediately grabs your hand, and takes Toriel in her other one.

"Yeah. I mean, you live on the complete opposite end of the neighbourhood from me, but we're pretty much at the same... er, height? I guess? Well at least on the same cross-secting street. My apartment is on the main road of the town, but this street cuts perpendicular to it. We'll be at my place in like, 20 minutes. Not even. I told you this neighbourhood is small."

"You did mention that yes. Well, it makes visiting a lot easier."

"Yup! Don't even have to try to puzzle your way through the different streets here! I literally live at the end of your road!" You swing Frisk's hand in excitement, and they giggle loudly.

"There's also a pretty cool park near my apartment." You mention idly, after a few minutes of silent walking.

"Is there?"

"Yeah. A lot of my apartment neighbours like walking the nature path there. They're pretty healthy people."

"Nature path?"

"Oh! Did you not have nature paths down in the underground? It's... well it's basically just a path people walk on to see nature. This one isn't that long, considering how small the park is, but people seem to enjoy it nonetheless."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea!"

"Yeah." Suddenly Frisk pulls their hand out of yours, and gestures rapidly to Toriel.

"Oh! Frisk is asking if perhaps we could all go on a nature walk together."

"Right now?"

"No no! Tomorrow, perhaps?"

You wince slightly, "Ah, I'll be busy tomorrow. I have school in the morning and work after that. I can do Tuesday afternoon though, I usually have Tuesdays off."

Frisk makes a gleeful sound, before grabbing your hand once again. Toriel chuckles, "Tuesday it is."

 

 


	2. Nature Walks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You go for a walk.  
> You learn a few things.  
> Life keeps on going.

**_BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP_ **

 

The alarm awakes you up, bleary eyed and grumpy. With a large groan, you manage to drag yourself out of bed and down to the bathroom, hopping into the shower and hoping it would wake you up. It does, and soon you are much more awake and are able to dress yourself, pack your school bag with your notebook and work clothes, before rushing to your kitchen and throwing down another bagel into the toaster and grab your Kuerig for some good old fashioned coffee. Filling it with water, and pushing the handle down against the cup you had thrown in there, you lean against the island counter, and yawn loudly. _Too early._  

You look down at your phone, and notice a message from Frisk you must have missed while you were busy with your homework last night.

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 9:03 PM_ **

**_Have a good night (y/n)!_ **

****

You debate on messaging Frisk back with a good morning message, but decide against it. It was unlikely Frisk would be awake at 6 in the morning anyways, and you didn’t want to risk waking them up if they weren’t. Heck if _you_ didn’t have to be up before 10 in the morning, usually you weren’t. But school and work were a responsibility you couldn’t ignore, so here you were. Suffering.

The coffee brews into your travellers cup and you grab the popped bagel and slap some peanut butter on it. Stuffing the food in your mouth, and fixing your coffee with enormous amounts of cream and sugar, you head out the door.

You crash down the stairs of the building, and greet Janet pleasantly as she exits her building, her jogging clothes on her lithe form. Janet was a rather fit individual for her middle-aged years. She was always active- something you felt guilty for _not_ being, but to each their own. Janet _obviously_ had more motivation (and time) than you did.

“Hey, Janet. Out for your morning jog?” You ask, as Janet locks her door and then falls into step with you. She gives you a bright smile, and a nod.

“Just as usual. It’s good to see a nice child like you going to school regularly too. Brightens my morning.”

“It’s a responsibility, Janet. And I _paid_ for it, I’m sure as heck going to every class I paid blood, sweat and tears to have a seat in.”

Janet gives a low laugh, as you open the door and let her through before following behind. You notice her glance go up to the top of the building however, and hear her mutter, “Not all young children think the same way.”

You also glance up at the top of the building. You knew the owner’s daughter had returned last night- her loud music and stomping overtop your ceiling had been noise enough. She must have brought a lot of people and partied pretty heartily last night, or something. You yawn again. It was a wonder you had slept through all that noise; or better yet, had managed to _wake up._  

The two of you stop at the bus station, right outside the park. You give a lazy wave to Janet, as she starts off down the sanded pathways. You yawn again, before sipping at your coffee. You look down at your phone, _6:34 AM_

 _Ah, the bus’ll be here any minute._  

Sure enough, the bus comes chugging happily towards you, the familiar morning bus driver giving you a wide smile. You swipe your card gratefully, and settle yourself into a comfy seat for some quick napping. 

School passes by with hardly any issues. Your classes go by smoothly, and you bubble with excitement to tell your school friends about the monsters you had befriended. All of them were monster-sympathizers, so they were in awe of your story- and even more so when you text a picture of your friends to Frisk, and Frisk responds with a picture of her and Toriel ( ** _You’re friends with the Ambassador!??_** Is screeched at you). After a semi-decent lunch, you bus your way to your work. 

You wonder if perhaps you’ll meet that skeleton again- Papyrus. You were arriving at approximately the same time you had seen him the other day, but there’s no sign of him anyway. You give a little shrug and sigh. You’d probably see him again, sometime. If Frisk really was friends with him, it would only be a matter of time until you saw the skeleton again. 

You press into work and quickly get yourself dressed. An hour and a half passes steadily, and that’s when it happens. 

You nearly jump out of your skin as suddenly a skeletal face is pressed up against the window, right in front of the table you had been cleaning off. You give a large yelp, nearly tumbling over the chair. The skeleton- Papyrus- you hear, gives off a large _NYEH HEH HEH!_ Of joy, and immediately bursts his way into the restaurant. 

Before you could pick yourself up from the table, large skeletal arms surround you and swing you about happily. 

"HURRAY! HUMAN, I HAVE LOCATED YOU!” He yells out happily, before setting you on the ground. His grin is wide, and he clacks his jaw happily.

You laugh with him, “How did you know I worked here?” 

The skeleton glances at you, “OH, I DIDN’T ACTUALLY. I _HAD_ PLANNED ON FOLLOWING THE BUS, BUT ALAS EVEN MY GREATNESS WAS NOT ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ON MY OWN TWO FEET. SANS HELPED ME COME UP WITH THE BRILLIANT IDEA- THE BRILLIANT PART WAS OF COURSE, ALL MY OWN- TO COME BACK TO THIS STREET AT THE SAME TIME I MET YOU YESTERDAY. SO I DID, BUT YOU WEREN’T AT THE BUS STOP SO I SYSTEMATICALLY CHECKED EVERY SINGLE STORE AND HOUSE WINDOW UNTIL I LOCATED YOU!” 

You widened your eyes, blinking rapidly, “Whoa. That’s a lot of effort.” 

“YES! BUT NO AMOUNT OF EFFORT IS TOO GREAT FOR THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” He gives another laugh, and assumes his childish pose. You roll your eyes and smile at him. 

“So why did you need to find me again?” 

Papyrus’s eyes widen comically, and he scrambles to pull out something from his weird rough and lumpy like clothes (it looks slightly like armour…???). He produces a phone, and holds it out to you proudly, “HUMAN! IN THE OFFER OF FRIENDSHIP FROM ME, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, I REQUIRE YOUR CELLULAR NUMBER! THAT WAY YOUR PHONE- AND BY EXTENSION YOU- CAN BECOME AS GREAT AS I AM.” 

You quirk your brow, “S’that so?” You say light-heartedly, before grabbing the phone extended to you and entering your information. You hand it back when you are done. 

“THAT IS INDEED ‘SO’, HUMAN!” Papyrus says giddily, eyes eagerly scouring his phone for your information, “THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS ALWAYS CORRECT IN HIS ASSUMPTIONS OF PEOPLE AND THEIR CAPACITY FOR GREATNESS SIMILAR TO MY OWN.” 

You blush slightly at the indirect compliment, and just simply smile at him. Papyrus gives a wide smile back, before he looks around the place with interest. 

“SO… YOU WORK HERE?” He inquires. 

You shrug your shoulders, “Yeah. It’s a job. Pays the bills, you know?” 

 Papyrus eyes narrow on your face, before he comments, “THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT SANS SAYS ABOUT HIS JOBS.” 

“Sans?” 

“OH! YES, SANS. HE IS MY ELDER BROTHER. VERY LAZY, SLEEPS _ALL THE TIME_. MAKES HORRIBLE PUNS. BUT HE’S STILL A VERY COOL BROTHER. HE READS ME WONDERFUL BED-TIME STORIES. AND _SOMETIMES_ HIS PUNS ACTUALLY AREN’T HORRIBLE.” 

You can’t help but smile over the mixture of bitter-sweet Papyrus’s tone had while describing his brother- it felt a lot like when you described _your_ baby sister, “He sounds like an interesting fellow, Papyrus.” 

“OH HE IS! NOW TELL ME, HUMAN, DOES THIS ESTABLISHMENT SERVE SPAGHETTI?” He eyes the large menu board critically, and you chuckle. 

“Ah, no. We don’t. Just- well burgers and stuff. We have salad too, but I’d, uh, not get that if I were you.” 

Papyrus immediately gasps, and looks incredibly affronted, “YOU _DON’T_ SERVE SPAGHETTI HERE?!” 

“No.” 

“THIS HORRENDOUS WRONG SHOULD BE RIGHTED IMMEDIATELY!” 

“Well, uh, we don’t _get_ spaghetti, Papyrus. If you wanted spaghetti, I’d suggest going to an _actual_ restaurant.” 

“SO THIS ESTABLISHMENT IS NOT ACTUALLY A RESTAURANT?”

“Not… technically? It’s a fast food joint. We serve the meatiest, greasiest, most vile, disgusting stuff you could ever hope to imagine.”

 “THAT SOUNDS AWFUL.”

 “It is.”

 “NO WONDER YOU DIDN’T EXPRESS IMMEDIATE JOY AT THE THOUGHT OF THIS JOB.”

“Well, like I said. It’s a job. It pays the bills. I can’t rightly complain.”

Papyrus looks thoughtful for a few moments, “I GUESS THAT IS THE TRUTH. HOWEVER IT IS STILL VERY UNFORTUNATE YOU DO NOT SERVE SPAGHETTI HERE.”

“Well, there is a good Italian place on the other side of town I’ve heard of-”

“THERE IS?! DO YOU WISH TO GO TO LUNCH WITH ME TO TASTE THAT RESTAURANTS CUISINE? IT IS PROBABLY NOT AS GOOD AS MY OWN, HOWEVER. BUT I AM WILLING TO GIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT.”

You glance around awkwardly, “Well, uh, Papyrus. I’m _working_.”

“OH. RIGHT. PERHAPS SOME OTHER TIME THEN?”

“Sounds like a plan. You have my number, so text me some times and I’ll see if I’m busy or not.”

“EXCELLENT HUMAN! AND I SHALL ALSO HAVE TO HAVE YOU OVER TO TASTE _MY_ DELICATE CUISINE! YOU CANNOT SIMPLY TRY SOME OTHER CHEF’S SUBPAR QUALITY SPAGHETTI WITHOUT ALSO HAVING MY OWN, PERFECTED AND DELECTABLE FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI!”

You hum to him, and wave him off when he proclaims he should stop distracting you from work. You laugh silently to yourself as Papyrus continues to turn and wave to you as he makes his hasty way out the door, and down the street.

Ha. Wow. Were you suddenly a monster friend magnet or something? Not that you were complaining, monsters were certainly fascinating- but from going to hardly knowing any in the past year to being friends with at least a couple in a few months; it _certainly_ had to be a good sign.

Maybe you really did make the good decision to move away from your family and up to the mountain.

The rest of your shift passes unremarkably, and you make the long bus ride back to your apartment. Slinking your tired way into the lobby, you start as you notice a very _extremely_ drunk young woman passed out on the soft couches. It was the daughter of the owner, and she still had a wine bottle clutched in her hands. You debate _very seriously_ about just leaving her there, but then a small, choked sob escapes her lips and you find yourself sighing and walking over

“April?” You ask tentatively, shaking her upper shoulders to try and rouse her. It seems to work, and April blinks open her blood-shot eyes. As soon as she looks at you, she starts crying _loudly_.

“Ah! Ah! April! Shh!! **_Shh!!_** It’s midnight! People are sleeping!” You hiss at her, trying to calm her down. April only seems to sob louder, mumbling incoherent words in her slurred voice.

With a dying regret, you manage to sling the drunk’s arm around your shoulders and cart her to the elevator.

“Okay, April, give me your keys so I can take you to your apartment.”

April starts sobbing even more, and you can hear a garbled _no!_ and other clinging protests in between the sniffles and cries and _guhh_ life just got _so much worse_ for you. What was that about a sign? With more dying regret, you take April to your apartment, and somehow manage to settle her into your guest room, a waste basket near the edge of the bed.

You trudge your way over to the bathroom, go through your nightly routine, and somehow slump into bed, tired and aggravated. Just as you are closing your eyes in a hopeful slumber, you hear muffled cries and the distinct sound of vomit hitting the bottom of a bin. You growl, groan, and toss your blanket over your head.

_You were so NOT going to have a good time tonight._

 

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

**_BLEEP  BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP_ **

****

Somehow, _magically_ , you manage to get up and make your way to the shower to wake up even further. You check on April- dead asleep on the bed- and head over to prepare your small bagel breakfast and _large_ cup of coffee to distill the headache slowly beginning to form. Looking up hangover cures, you leave a large glass of water and your bottle of aspirin for April when she wakes up. You also set a note down explaining how she got there, that she can simply leave once she felt better, and your phone number for anything else she wanted to ask of you.

With a heavy sigh, and _large_ gulps of your coffee and an aggravated bite of your bagel, you head down the stairs and once again greet Janet.

“What’s with the sour face?” Janet asks you as she falls into step with you.

“April.” Is all you manage to say. Janet makes an _ahh_ sort of noise.

“She was banging around drunk in the lobby before I went to bed. I guess you found her when you came back from work, yeah?”

“ _Yeah._ ” Is all you supply. You politely wave Janet off, grouchily waiting for the bus to come pick you up. You snooze all the way to the bus station, and on the bus to the University you fall asleep again and nearly miss your stop. Thankfully other students take the bus, so they pull the cord to signal to get off and you manage to scramble behind them, wiping the sleep from your eyes.

Even grouchier than ever, you slunk your way to your morning classes. The friends in them give you silent looks of curiosity, but no one presses or asks. You can’t help but nod off in class, trying your hardest to stay awake but April’s constant retching and sobbing had kept you up.

“I think someone needs a coffee break.” You crack your eyes open to look up at Ben, one of the friends in your small group of associates.

A garbled, _Hell yes_ , comes out of your mouth, and you follow him to the university café after the class was dismissed and before your next class. He trots with you to your next class (he had an actual break until his next class) and gives you slightly raised eyebrows.

“Long night studying?” He asks, sipping at his coffee, eyes glancing at you.

“You could say that.” You reply evasively. April’s problems were April’s problems. You didn’t know if you should go spreading them around.

“Hmm.” A few beats of silence happen, “How’s your friendship with the ambassador and queen of monsters going?”

“Good, actually. I’m meeting them later today.”

“ _What!?_ ” Ben screeches, immediately intrigued, “That is _so cool!_ You _gotta_ let us come over some time and meet them! They’re, like, celebrities!”

“I dunno. Once monsters got basic civil rights, the media stopped hammering the King and Queen and just focused on monsters generally. Which is probably _why_ they moved to a _small, quiet_ part of town, ya know?”

“Yeah, yeah, I won’t go posting their address on social media blah blah blahh. But still (y/n)! You _gotta_ let Sam and I go see them! He would _flip the fuck out!_ ”

“Yeah, I’ll definitely ask Toriel if I can bring friends over sometime. She’d love the company, really likes people.”

“God! I _still_ can’t get over the fact you just _happened_ to meet the _Queen of Monsters_ at the grocery store! That dinky little grocery store in Foxdale, of all things!”

“Well, monsters eat too. Of course they would go to the grocers.”

“No, stupid. Like, what type of freaky fate mumbo jumbo just _happens_ to cross your way for that to happen?! First it’s a _Bunny family_ that moves in next to you, and now the _Queen?_ Can I have some of your apparent good luck?”

“Speaking of the Bunny family, I forgot to mention Kathrine would really like for Yvonne to come over again. Apparently they really hit it up when they met a week ago.”

“Oh? And _when_ were you planning on telling me this?”

“Hey! I was literally told this a few hours before I met the Queen of Monsters, okay? So sue me if I got side-tracked!”

“Fine, _fine_. I’ll be sure to relay the message to Yvonne when I see her in my next class.” The two of you reach the door to _your_ next class.

Ben bides you a farewell, along with a stern, “Don’t forget to ask!” Before he jogs off. You duck into the class, sipping your coffee and settling into an empty chair. There were still 10 minutes until the class started, so you pull out your phone.

You nearly jump out of your seat at the amount of messages on it.

 

**_[Unknown Number] 6:35 AM_ **

**_HELLO, HUMAN! IT IS I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, TEXTING YOU! I WOULD LIKE TO WISH YOU A GOOD MORNING!_ **

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:37 AM_ **

**_PERHAPS YOU ARE STILL ASLEEP, HUMAN. IF THAT IS THE CASE, I CAN WISH YOU A GOOD MORNING LATER._ **

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:51 AM_ **

**_IF YOU SLEEP IN TOO MUCH, HUMAN, YOU WILL BECOME A LAZYBONES, LIKE MY BROTHER IS._ **

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:15 AM_ **

**_PERHAPS YOU ARE BUSY. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM PREPARING FOR A BUSY DAY AS WELL!_ **

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:21 AM_ **

**_TODAY, I AM GOING TO TRAIN WITH MY BEST FRIEND, UNDYNE. I SHALL ALSO BE SCOURING THE “INTERNET” FOR JOB OPPORTUNITIES THAT SHALL BENEFIT FROM MY GREAT AND WONDERFUL EXPERTISE. I SHALL ALSO BE CLEANING THE HOUSE FROM THE VERY BOTTOM TO THE TOP. AFTER ALL, I MUST PREPARE THE HOUSE FOR YOUR INIVENTIALBE ARRIVAL! I MUST, ALSO BY THE INSTRUCTION OF MY BROTHER, GATHER A LOT OF BOXES. I AM NOT SURE WHAT THESE BOXES ARE FOR, BUT IN TIME MY BROTHER WILL REVEAL THEIR PURPOSE._ **

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 8:15 AM_ **

**_I AM REALLY BEGINNING TO WORRY ABOUT THE LACK OF RESPONSE I AM RECEIVING FROM YOU HUMAN. DO YOU TRULY SLEEP IN LIKE MY LACKLUSTER BROTHER DOES?_ **

 

Quickly you fire off a text message to Papyrus

_[XXX] 11:08 AM_

_Hey Papyrus! Sorry, I was actually awake at that time! I was just busy getting ready and going to school. Have classes at 8 in the morning, ick! I’ll try to look out for your messages next time, so we can have a pleasant chat before school starts. And did you come up with any times for your friendship pasta? :)_

A reply comes in nearly immediately.

 

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 11:10 AM_ **

**_OH! THAT IS SPLENDID TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE NOT, IN FACT, A LAZYBONES BUT WERE SIMPLY BUSY WITH SCHOOL. AND I DID!_ **

_[XXX] 11:11 AM_

_Alright, so what times work best for you? I’ll see which ones I can go for_

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 11:12 AM_ **

**_ANYTIME OF THE WEEK!!!!_ **

_[XXX] 11:13 AM_

_Oh. Well, I could probably do sometime next week, if that works for you? Probably Tuesday. I have Tuesdays off work. Can’t do it today though, plans._

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 11:14 AM_ **

**_THAT IS PERFECT HUMAN! I AM ALSO “OFF” ON TUESDAYS!_ **

_[XXX] 11:15 AM_

_Sweet gtg Papyrus, teacher coming in. text ya later. :D_

 

Somehow talking to Papyrus gave you a burst of energy (or it was the coffee you had devoured) and the rest of your classes pass by happily, and suddenly you’re on your way home. Your phone buzzes as you get on the bus to head back to your neighbourhood.

 

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:18 PM_ **

**_Are we still on for the nature walk?_ **

_[XXX] 3:20 PM_

_Yup! Getting on the bus to go home rn. See you in an hour! :)_

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:21 PM_ **

**_rn?_ **

_[XXX] 3:22 PM_

_It means “Right Now”_

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 3:23 PM_ **

**_Oh!_ **

****

You settle into your seat, and suddenly your phone buzzes again. You look down at it curiously.

 

**_[Unknown Number] 3:31 PM_ **

**_Thnx. Doors unlockd._ **

****

_Ah! Must be April…_

_[XXX] 3:32 PM_

_No problem. Hopefully you feel a bit better after sleeping it off._

 

You don’t receive a reply. The minutes pass, you get to your stop and look around the park beside your apartment. Thankfully not seeing Frisk or Toriel, you head to the apartment complex to put away your book bag and lock your door. 

You enter your apartment, and look around. Other than a garbage bag full of vomit (gross), and your aspirin bottle entirely missing (sigh), nothing was out of place. You, very carefully with gloves, tie the garbage bag up and elect to throw it in the trash bin at the back of the apartment before heading to the park. 

Once there, you elect to send off a quick text to Frisk- you still didn’t see them meandering around the park at all.

 

_[XXX] 4:02 PM_

_Hey cutie! I’m ready and waiting at the park for our nature walk! ;)_

**_[Frisk the Flirt] 4:03 PM_ **

**_:D We are on our way as well! :D_ **

****

Within the next couple of minutes, as you sit at the bus station bench, you see Frisk and Toriel making their way down the street. You wave wildly to them from across the way, and Frisk happily waves back, before they start running. 

“Look out for cars!” You hear yourself yelling as Frisk haphazardly bolts across the main thoroughfare. Toriel, too reflects a similar type of instant worry.

Frisk leaps into your embrace, rapidly signing and smiling.

“Cutie, next time be careful when you cross the street. I don’t know what the underground has, but streets up here are dangerous!” You chide child in your arms. Frisk looks properly apologetic, especially as Toriel comes rushing in, reiterating the same thing.

Frisk hops down from your arms, and signs to both you and Toriel. Toriel’s worried, stern gaze seems to relent.

“As long as you know to wait next time, my child.” Frisk nods and smiles, before grasping both of your hands and then proceeding to try and drag the two of you into the park, puppy dog look in their eyes.

You give a little laugh, ruffling the top of their head, “Yeah, yeah, we’ll go on that nature walk now.”

You gently guide Toriel and Frisk to the start of the path, “Again, I have to warn you it isn’t that long.”

“It is okay. We are more than happy just to spend a bit more time with you.”

You flush and beam at Toriel, “You guys really are too sweet. It’s super awesome hanging out with you as well!” That thought suddenly brings back into mind your promise to Ben, “Oh! You two, I have something to ask of you, if you wouldn’t mind.” You swing Frisk’s hand, slightly nervous, as you head into the covered trail

“Of course! What is it you require?”

“Well my two friends, Ben and Sam, really want to come over and see you. I’m sure Yvonne, Joyce and Tristan would love to meet you all as well.”

“That sounds wonderful! Do they go to the University as well?”

“Yeah! They do! I just have to warn you though, they’ll be asking you questions like you wouldn’t believe.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, they’ve formed this… well, uh, pro monster group in the school. Sam’s got friends in the Student General Association of the University, which is how they were able to form the group in the first place. I hate to say it, but some of the professors in the school aren’t _too_ fond of monsters…”

Toriel gives a little laugh, “Well, they sound like wonderful people. If they are friends of yours, I am sure they can become friends of ours.”

“Don’t forget I warned you about them. They will _ask and ask and ask_ questions. They are, I guess, enthusiasts about monsters.”

“Questions are always good for a growing mind, and I am more than happy to answer them.”

_Must be the teacher within her…_

The walk continues on, and the two of you talk pleasantly (Frisk couldn’t sign, since she was still holding both of your hands). You gladly discuss the fact that tody was both Toriel’s and Frisk second day at the school. You learn Toriel’s first two days of being a teaching assistant had gone fairly well, and all the children had taken to her immediately. There was slight hesitation of mentioning a few fellow teachers and co-workers, but Toriel mentions the principle of the school was incredibly nice and kind, so you felt pretty glad at least the principle was on Toriel’s side.

“And Frisk still has plenty of homework to catch up on. Entering the school year a bit late, they have plenty of work that they need to do.” Frisk makes a face at that, and you can’t help but giggle.

As expected, the trail ends all too soon, and you’re back at the opposite end of the park. Frisk carts you towards a large picnic table, and eagerly gestures to Toriel.

“Yes, yes I plan to ask her. But first let’s have a late lunch.” As if by magic, Toriel digs out a large basket from her bag- filled with all sorts of sandwiches, little tarts and diced fruits. There was also plastic plates, forks, knifes, and small containers of condiments.

“Whoa…” You breathe, as Toriel happily fluffs out a white linen table cloth on the table, and spreads out the food she had prepared, “Jeez, Toriel, you didn’t have to make a whole lunch thing too! How in the world did you manage to make all of this!?”

“It was no trouble, really. And you could say I managed _sandwich_ it all in!”

You look up at Toriel, blinking slightly as she starts snickering. Frisk looks rather peeved at the pun, but you feel your lips twitching. You reach for one of the sandwiches, and grab the little jar of mayonnaise Toriel had just put out.

“Toriel, that puns humour quality was _spread_ _too thin_ for me.” You say pointedly, spreading the mayo with one of the small plastic knifes. Frisk’s wide, horror-filled eyes find purchase on yours.

Toriel’s eyes widen on you, before she starts laughing loudly, “Oh! (Y/n)! The moment I saw you, I knew you were a _bread_ in the making!” The two of you continue sharing puns and jokes, all the while Frisk looking like they were in incredibly agony and pain.

Before long, Frisk is rapidly tapping on Toriel’s shoulder, and signing to them with a rough determination.

“Oh yes, my child! I am sorry, I nearly had forgotten.” You quirk your eyebrow at the two of them before Toriel turns around to smile at you, “We, also, have a question to ask of you.”

“Well, shoot.”

“Shoot?” Toriel asks, eyebrows drawing in, “I do not wish to shoot you, my dear.”

“Oh! Oh no no no! It’s an expression. Just- ah- just ask the question.”

Toriel still looks slightly confused, but presses on nonetheless, “Well, Frisk and I were hoping to set up a sign language class for the people that would wish to learn. Not very many people here seem to know, or understand, sign language. I would like to help with that, and help Frisk be able to communicate with their friends without needing a notepad or me around to help translate.”

“Wow! That’s a wonderful idea!” You exclaim, looking at Frisk and smiling, “I’d love to be able to talk to the little cutie directly! When are the classes?”

Toriel blushes and smiles, “Not for a little while from now, I am afraid. I still have to find a place to teach, and make preparations to start teaching the language. I am rather busy this next week, settling into my new job and helping Frisk catch up with their schooling, so it is not likely until sometime next week or the week after that. 

You give a small chuckle, “No worries, Toriel. Everyone’s busy and has stuff that they need to do. Just send me a text whenever you finally get it all sorted out!”

“Of course. But Frisk was wondering if perhaps we could start teaching you… now? They desperately want to be able to communicate with you properly.”

“Oh!” You gasp, blinking rapidly before your eyes settle on Frisk’s hopeful and anxious face.

“Well, yeah, uh- I guess I can spare a few hours today. Shall we just start right here?”

Frisk squeals, standing up and clapping their hands. You take that as a yes, without even learning anything.

Before long, you’ve spent a good 2 and a half hours at the park learning sign language with Frisk and Toriel. You had a relatively firm grasp of _Hello_ , _Goodbye_ and _where is the bathroom?_ You could also, slightly, understand some of the alphabet and was able to sign your name very slowly.

Both Frisk and Toriel were vastly proud of your progress in such a short time.

After helping Toriel put away the leftover food, you bid them a fond farewell and walk towards your apartment to get some serious work done. You had a lab report due in 2 days, it was time to get cracking.

Just as you tromp your way up the stairs (you still felt pretty active after hanging out with Toriel and Frisk) you pause as you find April standing awkwardly near the door to your apartment. You blink, shuffling over to greet her.

April was a very pretty young adult, clear-skinned and skinny. Her hair was shoulder length, and dyed at the tips with a deep purple colour. She was never around the apartment complex for long, so you didn't exactly know her that well. All you knew was that she went to the same University you did; and that, of course, she had a boyfriend she spent most of her time with.

"Hello?"

April jumps at your voice, her vision had been preoccupied by the phone she was intently staring at. Her dark eyes are still swollen, red and very tired looking. There's an almost... depressed air about her person, as she regards you silently.

"Did you forget something at my place?" You ask as she says nothing to you.

Suddenly her lips are trembling and she's shaking her head. Tears start welling in her eyes, and you can only blink and shuffle awkwardly, before leaning in with a comforting hand.

"Hey, are you okay-?"

"Do I look fucking okay?! My boyfriend fucking dumped me!" Is all April wails, before sobbing loudly. With a sinking heart you're ushering the hysterical April into your apartment (god knows why she wanted to vent to _you_ of all people! You hardly knew each other!) and thoughts of completing your lab report are pushed to tomorrow... after work.

Sigh.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully not to weird, or not to short; ya know? Hopefully it's good and whatnot. (and sorry, pun game is awful)
> 
> Rather slow paced, but I mean that's living for you. Things don't happen right away.


	3. Late Nights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, April got dumped. That's awful.
> 
> And now more monsters are seeming to get to know you.
> 
> Ben's going to be sooo jealous. >:D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hints at domestic violence. Please be advised.  
> Derogatory words used. Please be advised.
> 
> I find it hilarious I'm introducing almost all the other "main" monsters before Sans shows up. 
> 
> Laughing so hard right now. (don't worry, Sans shows up at some point ;P )
> 
> And I didn't know how much April would be a character until literally when I wrote this... Man, I have plans for April now mwahaha.
> 
> But am I story-ing right? I dunno if people find this interesting... but like, idek... you can't really jump right into things... >.> Life isn't that fast. Or maybe I'm just weird??
> 
> I hope people like the OCs I've created too... I mean I know A LOT of people like showing the whole "anti-monster" thing, which, yes I am totally going to do- its a thing, I know it is- but like people out there are plenty accepting and shit as well. Sigh, idk. 
> 
> Thanks for being cool dudes and reading/kudos-ing and all that jazz though, you guys are awesome! :D

It takes quite some time for April’s blubbering and incoherent wails to become decipherable, but by the time 40 minutes roll around, she was calming herself down and you were beginning to develop a large, painful headache. 

“Do you have any alcohol?” April asks tearfully, sniffling. 

“No.” 

“Do… do you have any smokes?” 

“No.” 

A very _long_ side glance goes your way, “Do you have-” 

“ ** _No._** ” 

She grumbles something inaudible, before her lips start trembling some more and tears brim her eyelashes. She starts breathing heavily again, and oh _lord_. 

“Do you… want to talk about it?” You ask gently.

Her watery look eyes you before suddenly she explodes, babbling incoherently once more but you can pick out the phrases of _He’s a fucking jerk!_ And _How could he dump me like that?_ and _I bet HE was cheating on me the whole time!_ And _It’s not like I particularly LIKED monsters anyway!_ _Hardly even fucking talk to them!_  

That headache was slowly getting louder, roaring in your ears, but you find yourself giving April comforting pats and soothing noises- then suddenly she springs on you, soaking up any type of affectionate, comforting gesture you were willing to give.

Somehow, through her babbling and sloppy cries, you learn the sad little tale of April’s recent breakup. 

Apparently, April’s boyfriend was monster-phobic; at least you assumed because that was the primary reason for the breakup to occur. It was also the main reason why April hardly ever _was_ here and elected to go to her boyfriend’s house all the time. Apparently she had started doing that as soon as the Bunny family had moved in- but you weren’t exactly astute to notice that connection. 

“He just _really_ hates them,” April had sobbed, “So instead of making him pissed off, and possibly- well- possibly _do things_ , I just always stayed at his place. And, honestly, his place is a lot closer to shit than my step-dads stupid little apartment thing he gave me here-” 

However, you cut her off, “Do things? April what do you mean by _do things_?” 

April shifts uncomfortably at that question. 

“Would he… attack them?” 

April doesn’t look at your face, and instead mutters, “He gets pretty passionate about things.” 

But there’s something deeper in her voice, and you find yourself narrowing your eyes, “April… does he get… _passionate_ at you?" 

April balks, “No! No!” 

You don’t really believe her, but your silence leaves April to spring further into her tale. 

“But- for some strange reason he _insisted_ on having a party at my apartment the other night. I couldn’t exactly say _no_ , even though I tried to persuade him otherwise- But he _wasn’t_ listening and he was trying to accuse me of some other man back in Foxdale and before- before I knew it he had invited all his friends, and we were partying and- and…” April’s lips were trembling again.

“And what?”

“And then he found out.” April whispers.

“Found out?”

“It was in the afternoon of the next day, and by that time everyone was feeling pretty hungover and ready to go to their homes, ya know? So we all called cabs- I called one for Caleb and we both got in it… but as the cab was making its way out of town, one of the rabbit people were out for a stroll. And Caleb saw.” Her eyes were tearing up again.

“What did he do?”

“He started shouting, yelling. I was trying to calm him down- but he was beginning to threaten the driver, ask him to pull over so he could-” April looks away at that, taking a deep breath, “Well, _anyways_ , I managed to convince the cab driver to take us back to Caleb’s place- and somehow keep Caleb quiet. But once he got into his house… He, he wasn’t very quiet about it.”

Your grip seems to tighten, “Did he… get _passionate_ at you?”

April gives a little, humourless laugh, but doesn’t comment on that, “Caleb started accusing me of all sorts of things. He… he called me a monster lover. Said I was hiding the monsters living across from me because I was cheating on him with them, or something. He- he called me…” Her lips were trembling some more, “He called me a bunch of names… A _monster fucker_ … a- a- _whore_ , a _cheap cunt_ a-”

“You don’t have to list them for me.”

April takes a big, shaky breath, “ _And then he just dumped me!_ ” She concludes on a wail, “ _Said if I liked monsters so much, I should go be with them! He’s - He's such an asshole!_ ”

“He really does sound like an asshole.” Your own voice was trembling with anger

April continues to cry, “I **_loved_** that stupid motherfucking piece of shit and then he just goes and _dumps_ me because I live near a bunch of fucking _rabbits?! God I was so fucking pissed! I still am!_ ” April continues to insult her, now, ex-boyfriend as you make soothing intones and agreements towards the remarks about this new-found asshole.

“But then, why were you passed out drunk the other night?”

April's teary eyes look at you like you were stupid, "I went to some bar, I got drunk. What the fuck do you think I'd do after getting dumped by that asshole?"

"Mm, makes sense." _That still doesn't explain how she got back here..._

April lets out a wet, sloppy snort, “Was even going to get completely laid too, but I _think_ the guy called me a cab instead?”

“Ah, **_oh_**. That was kind of him.”

April hums, but then her emotions turn on another dime and she’s crying again, “I’m going to be so alone!”

“Wh-What? Why?”

“The only friends I had were _asshole’s_ friends! They all probably fucking hate me now! Not like I liked any of them- but I have _no one! No boyfriend, no friends, nothing!_ ”

And then it’s out of your mouth, “Well, I’m right here.” And April’s looking up at you with a watery, hopeful expression and she begins crying into your shirt again, hugging you even as she mutters,

“I don’t need your charity.”

“I’m _not_ offering charity, I’m offering friendship.”

 

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

**_BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP_ **

****

You rise from your bed like the dead, groaning and moaning. You drag yourself to the shower, and then to your kitchen and make the magical substance of pure rich liquid wake-up and snack on a granola bar. April is _still_ passed out on your couch, clutching the empty box of popsicles you had offered over as some type of comfort food. April hadn’t done much more than insult, cry and swear at her now ex-boyfriend; and you had followed along with your own insults, despite really not knowing him, murmurs of comfort at her tears and the offer of cheap, trashy horror films (apparently April liked those) and ice cream pops to make her feel a bit better. After her whirlwind emotional state finally calmed down enough, she simply crashed on your couch at about midnight.

And so, mistakenly, you tried to at least get _part_ of that lab report done, since you hadn’t even started it. However, all you had was a half-assed introduction and some measly re-written results from your lab book.

Your phone buzzes on your countertop, startling you and nearly causing you to spill the delicious wake-me-up drink. You narrow your eyes on the phone, before picking it up. _Who could be texting me…?_

 

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:13 AM_ **

**_HELLO AND GOOD MORNING, HUMAN FRIEND!_ **

_[XXX] 6:14 AM_

_Good morning._

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:15 AM_ **

**_YOU TRULY ARE AN EARLY RISER! I AM VERY PROUD OF YOUR SIMILAR PRODUCTIVE ATTITUDE TO MINE!_ **

_[XXX] 6:16AM_

_Well, gotta go to school nearly every day at 8, and busses take forever to get there from where I live._

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:17 AM_ **

**_IS THAT SO, HUMAN FRIEND? I ALSO HAVE A FRIEND THAT IS PLANNING ON GOING TO SCHOOL, SINCE THE LAWS HAVE CHANGED AND ALLOWED HER ACCESS TO HUMAN EDUCATION._ **

_[XXX] 6:18 AM_

_Is that so? Well, I wish her good luck on that._

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:19 AM_ **

**_I WILL INFORM HER OF YOUR ENCOURAGEMENT TO HER EDUCATION! I BELIEVE SHE MENTIONED THAT SHE IS POSSIBLY GOING TO THE UNIVERSITY IN THIS CITY, AS THEY HAVE FINALLY ACCEPTED HER APPLICATION._ **

****

**_That_** causes you to pause as you cram your bag full of school and work things, before heading out the door.

 

_[XXX] 6:20 AM_

_Your friend is going to go to my university?_

 

How was that possible? Most of the higher ups didn’t want _anything_ to do with monsters or teaching them- At least, that’s what you’ve heard Ben and Sam rant about when you were half-paying attention to their activist spiels.

 

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:21 AM_ **

**_YOU GO TO THE UNIVERSITY?!?!!?!?! THIS IS SPLENDID!!!!!! WHAT A JOYOUS COINCIDENCE!!!!! ALPHYS WAS WORRIED ABOUT GOING WITHOUT ANYONE SHE KNEW, BUT YOU CAN CERTAINLY BECOME HER FRIEND!!!!! UNDYNE WILL BE SO RELIEVED!!!!!_ **

****

Wait, what? You rush down the stairs, falling into step with Janet as she makes her way out the door. She gives you an odd glance as you only mumble your good morning reply to her, but thankfully she doesn’t comment. You wave to her absently as she heads her way to down the trail.

 

_[XXX] 6:27 AM_

_Yeah… well, what program is she going into?_

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:28 AM_ **

**_SOMETHING VERY SCIENCE-Y, I SUPPOSE. I DID NOT ASK, BUT ALPHYS IS INCREDIBLY SMART!_ **

_[XXX] 6:30 AM_

_Oh. When is she entering?_

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:31 AM_ **

**_VERY SOON, ACTUALLY. APPARENTLY THE UNIVERSITY IS GRANTING HER ENTRANCE DESPITE THE SCHOOL YEAR HAVING ALREADY BEEN STARTED. I THINK SOMETHING CALLED THE “SGA” FOUGHT HARD FOR HER TO BE ENTERED IN THIS YEAR, RATHER THAN HAVING TO WAIT UNTIL SOME OTHER TIME._ **

 

Ahh. _That_ would probably explain why the University board was suddenly so welcoming. You were sure that Ben and Sam were going to be over the moon about this news- if they _didn’t_ happen to know already. You get on the bus and swipe your card before replying to Papyrus.

 

_[XXX] 6:35 AM_

_That’s pretty cool Great Papyrus. Hopefully she’s in a few of my classes so I can help her out and stuff. And I can introduce her to all my friends, they’re really nice._

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 6:36 AM_ **

**_THAT IS A VERY WONDERFUL IDEA!!! AND I AM POSITIVE ANY FRIENDS OF YOURS ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND AS NICE AS YOU ARE!_ **

_[XXX] 6:37 AM_

_Awh, thanks Papyrus. You’re really sweet yourself ;)_

****

The two of you continue texting each other, as Papyrus moves on to talk about the things he plans to do today. As (apparently always) he had morning training sessions with Undyne, he was still planning on finding a job online, and- according to his brother- he hadn’t collected enough boxes and needed to get more.

 

_[XXX] 7:01 AM_

_Are you guys planning on moving sometime soon or something?_

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:02 AM_ **

**_NOT THAT I AM AWARE OF, HUMAN FRIEND! SURELY MY BROTHER WOULD ANNOUNCE THAT TYPE OF IMPORTANT INFORMATION TO ME! BESIDES, WE CANNOT MOVE! YOU HAVE YET TO COME OVER AND TASTE MY DELIGHTFUL CUISINE!_ **

_[XXX] 7:03 AM_

_Right, right. Still good for next Tuesday?_

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 7:04 AM_ **

**_VERY MUCH SO!!!_ **

****

Then it’s onto topics about yourself, which Papyrus grills you on your day- and your entire week, for that matter- on when you were going to be at school, when you were going to be at work, etc. etc. until, finally, you were heading towards your class and you had to (sadly) tell Papyrus goodbye. He sends back a happy cheer for you to have a good day, and somehow manages to wiggle in how happy he was that he got to talk to you.

That sets a smile on your face for the rest of the day. That is, until you are bombarded by Ben at your break time between the end of classes and the start of work, with his shrill voice screeching your name.

“YOU’LL NEVER GUESS WHAT’S HAPPENING!!” Sam follows behind him, looking completely ecstatic. You quirk your eyebrow as you munch on the sub you bought from one of the Subway’s within the University, debating on ruining his steam and telling him you already knew what you were sure he was hyperventilating over.

“What?” You ask instead, between your mouthfuls of sandwich.

Sam balks, pointedly holding his hand up and looking away from you, “Ugh, _gross!!_ Close your mouth while you eat! That's _so_ disgusting!”

However, Ben jumps up and down, ignoring Sam's whining and your open-mouth chewing, “A MONSTER IS COMING TO THE UNIVERSITY! A MONSTER! ISN’T THAT COOL? THE SGA WON THE DEBATE, LIKE JUST THE OTHER NIGHT!! WE'RE FINALLY ACCEPTING MONSTERS!! INTO!!! THE!!! UNIVERSITY!!!”

At that, you swallow and smile, feeling pretty smug, “Oh, I know.”

Ben immediately freezes, eyes narrowing on you, “What do you _mean_ you **know?!** ”

Your smirk grows a bit wider, “Well, I happen to be friends with the monster in question’s friend. He texted me this morning, talking about it. He was really excited for Alphys to be continuing her education.”

“ **You’re W H A T?!** ” Ben screeches loudly.

“ _The monster’s name is Alphys?!_ ” Sam is astounded.

You can only laugh as the jealousy seems to swarm on Ben’s face, and he sits down beside you, “You’re going to tell me _right now_ how you know this _before I did_ , or **_else._** ”

You can’t help but laugh, “Or else what?” You taunt him.

“Or else you’re out of a lab partner for Biochem. I’ll ask Alyssa to be my partner instead."

You gasp, “You _wouldn’t_.”

“Oh, I would.”

“ _Ugh_ , it’s not like it’s that big of a story anyway! The friend that told me, Papyrus-”

“Papyrus? You mean like the font style?” Sam asks. You blink. Huh, you hadn’t even thought of that.

“-Yeah, I guess so? Anyways, I met him after work a few days ago. Some douche knocked him over, made him drop his groceries on the ground. I helped him up, picked up his groceries- you know, nice person stuff. He thanked me, we talked before I had to leave for the bus.” You start snickering lightly as you remember the day after that, “Apparently I made a good impression on him, cuz the very next day he _systematically checked each and every storehouse window_ to see if I was there. Luckily I was at work at the time, so he found me- and we exchanged phone numbers. We’ve texted a bunch of times now. He told me this morning.”

“So he’s the friend of the… Alphys that’s coming to the University?”

“Yeah. He asked if I could befriend her too, make her more comfortable.”

Ben rounds on you, eyes flashing demonically, “You _better_ tell me you were planning on introducing her to us _as soon as you saw her_ , right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I was! Now can you let me eat my sandwich in peace before I have to go to work? I’d rather not starve to death on the job.”

Ben snorts, but says no more as Sam sits down idly beside him. They then start to ramble about the debate the SGA had won, but again- you were only half-listening. You wondered if perhaps Papyrus would visit you at work again today. Maybe he’d bring along that Alphys so you’d know who to meet before they showed up at the University.

Ben reminds you of your promise to get him and Sam to see Toriel sometime, as you get up to leave to catch the bus to work. You roll your eyes and sigh, stating you had already asked her and just needed some kind of consensus of time between all of you.

Ben hurriedly whips out his phone, “Okay, so here is all of my free time this next month-” He recites off a few dates and times, to which Sam chimes in his own availability. You take note of the days that you could also be there, and quickly enter them into your phone.

“And I want to meet this Papyrus too!” Ben calls out to you as you finally make your way to the bus.

“I swear the only time you guys want to hang out with me is when I have someone else to introduce you too!” You loudly tease them. They don’t seem to shout a reply, but that’s probably due to the fact you had already walked out the door. Sighing loudly, you head to the bus station to catch your bus and then transfer over to the one that would take you to work.

Settling into your seat, your phone buzzes a few times.

 

**_[Unknown Number] 3:20 PM_ **

**_Hello, it is I, Toriel. I was hoping, once again, to invite you over for dinner, perhaps on the weekend. My child certainly cannot stop asking when we will next met you._ **

****

**_[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 3:20 PM_ **

**_HELLO, HUMAN!! I WAS HOPING THAT IT WOULD BE OKAY IF I AND MY BEST FRIEND, UNDYNE, WOULD BE ABLE TO VISIT YOU AT WORK TODAY? UNDYNE IS VERY ADAMANT ABOUT MEETING YOU, ESPECIALLY IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE HELPING ALPHYS AROUND THE UNIVERSITY WHEN SHE JOINS. ALPHYS AND UNDYNE ARE DATEMATES. I ASK ALPHYS TO JOIN AS WELL, BUT SHE IS NOT THE MOST SOCIAL OF MONSTERS._ **

****

**_[April] 3:21 PM_ **

**_u srsly dont have booze. i can fix that tho lmao_ **

 

You send a quick reply to Toriel, expressing that you could probably do a dinner on Saturday (you had a morning shift). You glance at the availability of your friends, but sigh as you note that Ben wouldn't be able to be there, so elect to ask Toriel for a date next week, when both could come (she responds with a yes, we would love to meet them).  You reply to Papyrus’ question with a “yes, of course!” and simply sigh as you read April’s message.

It's within the next three hours that Papyrus bursts into the fast-food restaurant, a figure in tow. You tell your co-workers you were taking an early break; they didn't exactly care- and you walked out the employee entrance to greet Papyrus.

"AH! THERE YOU ARE HUMAN!" He proclaims elatedly, rushing up and hugging you happily. You smile at him, however that smile freezes on your face as you glance over his- no, actually _through_ his body- at the "Undyne" he wanted you to meet.

Unlike all the other monsters you had ever met, who smiled and laughed and had a certain happiness to them- Undyne looked _angry_ , dangerous, and snarky. Undyne was a large, blue-scaled fish-like monster, and looked incredibly... well, _buff_ to say the least. She had a black tank-top, along with navy blue jeans that fit snuggly around her impressive leg muscles. Flaming red hair twisted around her shoulders, a shock of it falling in front as hefty bangs, which couldn't fully cover a very prominent eye patch on one eye. The other eye, however, was trained very intensely on you, the deadliest tint of yellow with a slit of black marking her pupil. A large, feral grin grew on her features, sharp and glinting teeth protruding from her curled lips. You gulp.

"So this is the punk, huh?" Undyne's voice is raspy, harsh and intense- much like her smile, and very demeanour. She radiates pure violent intent, unlike the rainbows and sunshine that is Papyrus's presence.

Papyrus sets you down, right in front of the intimidating woman and introduces you, "THEY ARE MY SECOND HUMAN FRIEND!" Papyrus happily concludes, "THEY ARE INCREDIBLY KIND AND NOBLE."

Undyne quirks a brow, "Is that so?" She draws out, crossing her arms underneath her chest, and tilting her hips as she surveys you. You feel more than slightly intimidated at the probing, judging looks. Especially as it focuses intensely on your chest area.

"YES. THEY ALSO ARE GOING TO THE SAME UNIVERSITY ALPHYS PLANS TO GO TO."

Undyne merely grunts at that information, her one eye still assessing you. Suddenly she holds out a webbed fin, smirking slightly. You hesitantly take her fin in your own hand, and let out a slight gasp as her grip tightens on yours aggressively. Her smirk grows at the squawk of pain you let out.

"Ya sure I can trust this punk with my little Alphie?" Undyne asks aloud, but the question is clearly directed at Papyrus.

"OF COURSE YOU CAN TRUST THIS HUMAN!" Papyrus proclaims, "THEY ARE INCREDIBLY TRUSTWORTHY, THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS NO DOUBTS."

You offer a little grimacing smile, stretching your hand as Undyne suddenly lets go of it. You try your best to make a good impression on the intimidating woman, "Well, I was actually going to introduce Alphys to some of my other friends once I met her. They formed the pro-monster group at the school-"

"Yeah, we got an email about that group." Undyne interrupts pointedly, "That one lady from the SGI or whatever said it would be a good place to find some friends within the school."

At that you beam proudly, "Yes! It is! Ben, Sam, Joyce, Tristan and Yvonne are incredibly welcoming people, who helped to start and fund the Pro-Monster group. Ben and Sam, especially, are very active members of not only the newly formed Pro-Monster group, but also of the LGTB-plus community and Pride group within the school, and I believe next year they want to get voted into the SGA. They are really looking forward to meeting Alphys when she enters into the University sometime soon."

Undyne narrows her eye on your face once more, humming thoughtfully, "How do I know ya aren't some sort of in-disguise Anti-Monster group? Just lying in wait to attack m'girl?"

You freeze slightly at the implications, trying to think of something to prove your friend's innocence, but coming up blank, "I... I guess you can't really know unless you decide to trust my word for it," At Undyne's look, you rush to try and at least prove somehow your friends weren't racists- or would it be specist? "I swear none of my friends would ever dream of hurting any monsters! And, to be honest, were one of the fore-front advocates besides the members of the SGA on instigating monsters within the University when the law was passed early this year that you could obtain an education. They really were one of the most happiest at hearing the news a monster was finally accepted! I _promise_ you they have no ill intentions!"

Undyne's gaze continues to search you, "You seem pretty proud of them, punk." She finally comments

You blink, before shrugging awkwardly, "Well, I guess I kind of am."

Suddenly Undyne swoops in on you, shoving you into her side as she swings an arm around your shoulder, "Ya know, maybe I'll try an' trust ya. _But_ -" She adds warningly, one eye glinting, "If you're lyin' to me, I know exactly which punks to beat to shit."

"UNDYNE, I AM SURE THAT IS UNNECESSARY. DID I NOT TELL YOU HOW MY HUMAN FRIEND WAS SO KIND-"

"That she picked up your spaghetti boxes after some asshole human knocked ya down, yes, Papyrus. You _told_ me that, like 5 times already." Undyne groans, rolling her eyes and pushing you away. The intimidating air to her was rapidly beginning to disappear, even as she continues to eye you down, "Like I said, punk, one misstep- one little tear falls from my precious Alphie's adorable face, you'll be-"

"Let me guess, I'll be sleeping with the fishes?" Papyrus lets out a large, choked sound as Undyne's one eye widens comically on you.

"NO! NO! NOT YOU TOO!" Papyrus announces dramatically, "I CANNOT HAVE ANOTHER JOKSTER IN MY LIFE!" He looks very put-out by your simple little jest to try to impress Undyne. Or at least make her laugh.

"Ya know punk, I think I can learn to like you." Undyne comments after a good few minutes of her gawking at you, but her smile turns cheeky, "However, I already got someone to sleep with me." Your little smirk at the play on words turns into a blush at the _other_ connotation you hadn't meant to insinuate to the- heh- fish monster.

"UNDYNE."

You laugh awkwardly, before trying to playfully continue the sudden new joke, "I guess you could say you'll leave me _drowning_ in sorrow." Undyne snorts, but shakes her head sadly.

"HUMAN. HUMAN PLEASE. THIS IS UNFAIR. I THOUGHT YOU BETTER THAN THIS."

"Paps, your brother is gunna love her."

"I MUST NEVER EVER LET THEM MEET. I CANNOT HAVE EITHER OF THEM INFLUENCE EACH OTHER." Undyne gwaffs at that, before roughly grabbing Papyrus by the shoulders, still laughing.

"Well, I guess that ruins that spaghetti night for ya, huh?"

Papyrus lets out another loud gasp, "I HAD NOT THOUGHT OF THAT!" Suddenly his eyes narrow, "HUMAN, ON TUESDAY NIGHT YOU MUST BE ON YOUR BEST BEHAVIOUR AND UNDER _NO CIRCUMSTANCES_ ARE YOU ALLOWED TO INFLUENCE MY BROTHER'S HORRIBLE PUNS."

You give a nod, trying to be serious, "Of course, Papyrus." But you turn your gaze up curiously to Undyne.

Suddenly her eyes widen, "AH!" She proclaims, before digging into her pockets and producing a beaten, dark blue wallet, "Should prob'ly show you a picture of m'girl, that way you know what cutie to look for," Undyne rips out a picture from her wallet, and it unfolds into a long line of several photos. They get shoved towards your face, a proud gleam in Undyne's eyes, "That's her! That's my Alphys! Isn't she the most cutest, sweetest monster you've ever seen?"

The pictures are all different photos of a rather small, nervous looking yellow dinosaur-lizard type monster. A few of them have Undyne in them as well, hugging or otherwise giving the small monster affection- causing a large blush on her face. you look up at Undyne, smiling at the obvious affection she had for the monster in the picture.

"She certainly looks adorable." You tell her gently, and Undyne snorts loudly.

"Of course she is! Alphys is the BEST! THE CUTEST! THE SMARTEST MONSTER THERE EVER WAS!" Undyne continues to rain praise down on the monster in question, and it brings a large smile to your face.

"You seem pretty proud of your girlfriend." You tease lightly. Undyne stops her ranting to blink down at you, before laughing and blushing slightly.

" _Well I guess I kind of am._ " She mockingly replies back to you, before giving a large grin. Her eyes snake to the clock set up, and then she glances back down at you, wolfish smile still in place, "Well, punk, we should let you get back to this smelly grease-trap to continue working. Ya better take good care of my Alphie, or you'll be hearing from me again. _Sleeping with the fishes_ and all that!" Undyne winks, and then drags Papyrus out the door, despite his protests of wanting to talk longer to you. He awkwardly waves goodbye, as Undyne seems to continue to grip him under her arm.

"Well," One of your coworkers announces dryly, as you enter the back room, "What was that all about?"

You shrug your shoulders, "Undyne wanted to make sure her girlfriend wasn't going to be hurt once she entered University." That's basically the short and long of it, you supposed. Give or take that awful joke you made.

"Hmm," Your coworker hums, "Didn't know monsters could be lesbos."

You crinkle your eyebrows together, _Is that all he got out of that?_   "I'm sure monsters can be whatever sexual orientation they want to be."

Your co-worker rolls his eyes at that, huffing, "Whatever." However, there was a weird look creeping up on his face, and you didn't want to know where his thoughts were leading to.

The rest of the shift passed awkwardly, especially as that coworker started asking probing questions about how you knew the two "lesbian monsters". You were more than glad when he finally left, his shift completed. And then a few more hours until you could go home.

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

You arrive at your apartment, tired and sore. For some strange reason, after you were left to close by yourself, it seemed as if everyone suddenly wanted your restaurants shitty food. Some monsters even came in during those hours, to which you thankfully weren't forced to over-charge them (your boss wasn't there, so who would know?). You _wanted_ to go to bed as soon as you entered the complex, but you had a lab report due so you had to suck it up and force yourself to stay up really late once again.

_Well I guess I'm going to have to shove coffee down my throat and hope for the best._

You enter your apartment (it was a little startling that it wasn't locked, but then again April), and muscle your way to your island counter. You blink at the large bottle of alcohol sitting there, with a sprawled, curly note near them.

_\- Got you some alcohol! Now, next time I cry on your shoulders I can actually get drunk doing it. Thanks though, for listening to me. - A._

Why in the world had April bought you booze? You rub your tired eyes and manage to make yourself some coffee- which was no doubt a bad idea, given it would keep you up all night but a lab report had to be done _by tonight._ You drop the cup into the machine and slam it back down, yawning. You go to your bag, pull out your laptop and set to work.

It was going to be a long night.

 

~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~

 

You wake up groggily on your couch, stretching and yawning. Your computer was placed on the ground beside you, with the printed report you had managed to complete in the wee hours of the morning sitting there. You yawn again, and lazily grab your phone. Lots of messages are beeping on it, but what brings dread and fear into your throat is the time that blinks on the display.

It was 9:52. _Shit._ If you didn't leave _right now_ you wouldn't be able to get to the class that the goddamn lab report was due in! _Fuck!_

Panicking, and scrambling, you manage to toss on some fresh clothes, haphazardly brush your teeth and throw your hair up into some shamble of a pony tail. You toss your school supplies and lab report into your bag and book it down the stairs, vaulting towards the bus before it got to the stop.

You _just_ make it. And even further still, you somehow manage to make your way into the class, only a few minutes late. You slink in beside Ben, his look making you sheepish.

"Someone looks like shit." He comments quietly, "Guess someone left the report last minute, huh?" He chuckles at the look on your face as you refuse to comment.

The class passes by and you hand your report in at the end, along with Ben's. Ben smirks at you as you tromp back up to the exit, and you frown at him as he begins to tease you.

"Well, if you're going to act like that I guess I'll have to text Toriel to cancel the little meet-and-greet I got her to agree to for next weekend..." You grumble sourly, proceeding to take out your phone. You blanch as it reminds you of all the messages- mainly from Papyrus- that you still haven't looked at.

"Wait what now?!" Ben responds, before immediately grabbing you into a large hug, "My precious friend! My dearest companion!" He coos happily, "Of _course_ there is no wrong in accidentally sleeping in! Everyone does it! I've skipped multiple classes, in fact! I've also forgotten plenty of assignments in my time!"

You quirk an eyebrow, trying to pretend to text Toriel as you proceed to answer Papyrus's text messages. They grow from happy to increasingly worrisome as you don't reply to him like you had yesterday. You send a quick explanation and apology.

Ben desperately grabs at your hands, "No!! I promise I won't tease you about it! Everyone will totally want to go to see The Queen next weekend!!"

"Relax, I'm texting Papyrus not Toriel." You say, sending off the text once you were done. Ben stops trying to take the phone from you, and then immediately starts inquiring about the proposed meet-and-great

"So next Saturday?? Who's going? Is the Ambassador going to be there? Any other monsters? Is Papyrus going to be there? Can I invite the whole PMG?? WHAT TIME?!?!"

"Yeah, it's on Saturday. And I dunno, maybe I'll ask Papyrus and stuff, see if he can invite some monsters over. And I'm not really sure, I asked if "my friends" could come, so I'm sure if any of the others are free, they could come too... I really only asked her like yesterday, so pardon me if we haven't worked out any details yet."

"Ah, alright. I'll text Sam right now! He's going to be so excited!" Ben whips out his phone, and proceeds to sped-text Sam. Your phone buzzes with Papyrus's reply.

_**[THE GREAT PAPYRUS] 11:39 AM** _

_**IT IS QUITE ALRIGHT, HUMAN. I AM JUST GLAD THAT YOU ARE NOT HARMED, AND MERELY SLEPT IN. HOWEVER, YOU MUST TAKE CARE TO HAVE PROPER SLEEP SO AS NOT TO BECOME A LAZYBONES, LIKE SANS.** _

_[XXX] 11:40 AM_

_I'll try my best._

"Oh man, I can't wait for next Saturday now!" Ben proclaims, "But this coming Monday the new monster is going to start-"

"Alphys is starting on Monday?"

Ben nods, "Yeah, or so Shannon told Sam. I guess the University thought it better to have her start at the beginning of the week rather than get thrown into everything at near the end of the week."

"Do you have any idea what classes or program she's in?"

Ben sighs, "No. We won't know until we see her. I hope somebody in the PMG has a class with her, it'll make things much easier."

"I could probably ask Papyrus to ask Undyne. She'd know."

"Undyne?"

"Apparently Alphys's girlfriend. She, ah, kind of threatened me and indirectly all of the PMG last night when Papyrus brought her around."

"Girlfriend?! Alphys has a girlfriend?!" Ben seems positively over the moon about that information, "That makes this ten billion percent better! Not only can she join the PMG but the Pride group as well! This is fantastic! I didn't even know monsters could have such a sexual orientation!"

"I'm sure monsters can have any type of sexual orientation that they want. I don't even know if gender and sex is a term to really applies to them."

"But of course, but of course! Who am I to judge about _that?_ Monsters already seemed to have garnered an unique equalitarian society below the mountain, so why should I even be surprised?! If only humans could learn to be as accepting and tolerant such as them!"

"How did you know they had that sort of society?"

"Do you really think I wouldn't have done research before forming the PMG? Give me a _bit_ more credit than that!"

"But I thought the media loved portraying them as horrendous and scary. Where in the world did you get that sort of information from?"

Ben winks, "I have my sources. See you later!! I'll text you!" Ben proceeds to head off to elsewhere in the University.

"You never text me!"

"Sam'll text you!"

With that, Ben rushes away, probably to give the news to the other members of the PMG. You head off to your last class of the day, sighing and shaking your head. Ben really was something else.

The next few days pass without incident, or anything remarkable happening. Papyrus seems to like coming in for a quick little chat while you're at work, and Undyne popped in again on Friday to fully introduce herself, without the intimidating gaze or stink eye. She comments she was going to have Alphys see you, before University but Alphys- again- was too nervous to come and greet you.

"She said she didn't want to greet you now given she might 'get you to hate her' and then being friends or classmates with you in Uni would be awkward." Undyne laughs at that, "As if anyone could hate my little Alphie! I told her that, but she still didn't want to risk it!"

You nod along with that, and manage to ask Undyne about what program Alphys was in. She proudly proclaims she was in Engineering- which makes you smile widely. Joyce would be overjoyed to have another female engineering student, and Ben would be relieved that at least someone from the PMG would be in most of her classes- and magically, in some way you obtain Undyne's number, her saying she'd give it to you so you could easily give her updates on anything happening with 'her girl'.

You shake your head again. Maybe you _really were_ a monster friend magnet.

And Ben was probably going to be leagues of jealous.

Saturday rolls around, and you're up early, getting ready for work and texting Papyrus at the same time. He's more than ecstatic about the encroaching Tuesday spaghetti night. You continue to text him until you reach your workplace, and open it up to start the day. Your boss comes in after a few minutes and the day begins slowly, and continues to be slow until your shift is over.

Your bus ride passes as normal, as Frisk starts texting you and commenting how excited they were to see you again. They were also incredibly curious over the friends you were bringing over next weekend, and you answered all the questions they pose to you.

Soon enough you were back home, and were trying to squeeze in some homework before the dinner tonight. Suddenly, your phone rings on a call. You pick it up.

"Hello?"

"HUMAN FRIEND!!" A sob cracks over the phone. You immediately sit up.

"Papyrus?"

"HUMAN FRIEND I AM SO SORRY!"

"Sorry for what, Papyrus? What's wrong? What's happened?"

"THE GREAT PAPYRUS HAS FINALLY DISCOVERED WHAT THOSE BOXES WERE FOR- BUT IT IS TERRIBLE!"

Your eyebrows crinkle in concern, "Terrible? What do you mean terrible? What are the boxes for?"

"YOU WERE RIGHT IN THE FACT THAT WE ARE MOVING!" Papyrus sobs some more.

"Oh? Well isn't that kind of exciting?"

"IN MOST CASES, YES, MOVING WOULD BE VERY EXCITING! BUT IT IS NOT AT THIS POINT IN TIME!"

"Why is that? When are you moving?"

"THAT IS THE VERY THING THAT IS TERRIBLE ABOUT IT! MY BROTHER INSISTS ON MOVING ON TUESDAY!"

"Oh."

"YES, IT IS INDEED "OH" HUMAN! IT IS VERY, VERY OH! WE CANNOT MET UP ON TUESDAY! I CANNOT SERVE YOU MY MOST FAMOUS OF FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI! HOW ARE YOU GOING TO COPE WITH THAT HEART-BREAKING LOSS AND DISAPPOINTMENT?"

"Well, I could just visit you after you move, we can have a spaghetti night sometime then." The line goes silent for a few minutes, and you worry Papyrus had hung up on you. Did he just really like Tuesday spaghetti nights or something?

"I DID NOT THINK OF IT THAT WAY, HUMAN FRIEND." You smile at the sudden light his tone had taken.

"Well, you can think of it now. Sooo, can you tell me where you're moving to?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jee, I wonder where they could possibly be moving to? 
> 
> But good lord, I wrote, and re-wrote, and REWROTE this so many times, and I still hate it :/  
> Ugh.


End file.
